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BOOK    g20.073.L762   v.  3    c.  1 
LIVINGSTON    #    PORTRAITS    OF   EMINENT 
AMERICANS   NOW   LIVING 


3  T1S3  DDE1125T  T 


This  Book  may  be  kept  out 

TfFO  WEEKS 

only  and  is  subject  to  a  fine  of 
TWO  GENTS  a  day  thereafter. 
It  will  be  due  on  the  day  indicated 
below. 


\ 


V 


1  /  <f 


PORTRAITS 


EMINENT   AMERICANS 


NO\V    LIVING: 


BIOGRAPHICAL  AND  HISTORICAL  MEMOIRS  OF  THEIR 
LIVES  AND  ACTIONS. 


BY     JOHN      LIVINOSTON 

OF   THE    NEW    YORK    BAR. 


VOL.  in. 


IST      BROADWAY, 

jLonhon: 

SAMPSON      LOW,      SON      &      CO. 

|)oris  : 

A    &    W.     GALIGNANI    &    CO. 
1854. 


:Zi-2- 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1854,  by 

JOHN     LIVINGSTON, 

In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  United  States  for  the  Southern 

District  of  New  York. 


5*^0-^ 


»..  craishead,  printer  and  stereotyper, 
53  Vesey  utrect,  Kc:'  York 


TO 


GEORGE     PEABODY, 


OF      LONDON". 


My  Dear  Sir, 

A  citizen  of  whoin  any  state  might  be  proud,  a  man  whose  presence 
would  benefit  any  community,  and  whose  name  would  reflect  honor  upon 
any  office  or  station,  I  know  of  none  more  worthy  to  whom  I  may 
inscribe  a  volume  which,  while  preserving  the  memory  and  perpetuating 
the  hving  images  of  some  of  the  great  and  good  of  this  generation,  also 
places  before  the  public  a  record  of  lives  teaching  the  most  important 
lessons  of  honesty  and  industry. 

One  of  the  most  prominent  and  remarkable  examples  of  that  energy 
and  enterprise  characteristic  of  the  American  people,  and  by  which  you 
have  reached  an  elevated  position  among  the  merchant  princes  of  the 
world — in  re\aewing  your  prosperous  and  instructive  history,  it  will  also 
be  apparent  that  your  course  has  ever  been  true  to  the  strictest  integrity 
and  the  holiest  dictates  of  justice.  Mentally,  independent,  firm,  and 
discriminating ;  morally,  conscientious,  upright,  and  pure,  your  charac- 
ter has  no  shades, — no  dark  spot  which  your  friends  would  desire  to 
conceal  or  remove, — no  eccentricity  to  detract  from  its  merits.  Few 
now  living  have  done  more  than  yourself  for  the  highest  interests  of 
humanity;  and  your  hospitality,  generosity,  and  benevolence  are  well 
known  to  the  millions  of  your  native  land. 

That  you  may  long  be  permitted  to  enjoy  the  vigorous  health  which  a 
good  constitution,  temperate  habits,  and  a  clear  conscience  have  blessed 
you  with ;  and  that  your  valuable  life  may  be  spared  for  many  years, 
are  the  sincere  wishes  of  countless  multitudes,  and  of 

Your  Friend, 

JOHN  LIVINGSTON. 


PEE  F  A  C  E. 


This  work  presents  to  the  world,  sketches,  with  pen  and  pencil,  of 
some  of  those  prominent  Americans  now  living — including  clergymen, 
doctors,  lawyers,  statesmen,  financiers,  merchants,  manufacturers,  and 
farmers — whose  talents,  energy  and  enterprise,  while  affording  an 
instructive  lesson  to  mankind,  seem  worthy  of  being  held  up  as  examples 
for  emulation.  That  the  memory  of  such  persons  should  have  its  public 
record,  is  peculiarly  proper ;  because  a  knowledge  of  men  whose  sub- 
stantial fame  rests  upon  their  attainments,  character,  and  success,  must 
exert  a  wholesome  influence  on  the  rising  generation  of  the  American 
people  ;  while  to  those  who  have  arrived  at  a  period  in  life  not  to  be 
benefited  by  lessons  designed  for  less  advanced  age,  it  cannot  fail  to 
prove  interesting. 

While  transmitting  to  posterity  the  memory  of  distinguished  persons 
of  the  present  day,  it  will  instil  in  the  minds  of  our  children  the  impor- 
tant lesson,  that  honor  and  station  are  the  sure  reward  of  continued 
exertion — and  that,  compared  to  a  good  education,  with  habits  of  honest 
industry  and  economy,  the  greatest  fortune  would  be  but  a  poor  inheri- 
tance. 

If  the  reader  shall  find  the  memoirs  of  many  who  have  enjoyed  every 
advantage  which  affluence  and  early  education  can  bestow,  he  may  also 
trace  the  history  of  those  who,  by  their  own  unaided  efibrts,  have  risen 
from  obscurity  to  the  highest  and  most  responsible  trusts  in  the  land , 
indeed,  it  will  be  found  that  success  has  more  generally  waited  upon 
men  who,  in  early  life,  were  not  encumbered  with  a  bountiful  supply  of 
"  this  world's  goods." 


VI  PREFACE. 


We  are  aware,  to  render  a  work  of  this  character  truly  useful,  dis- 
crimination and  sound  judgment  are  necessary  in  the  selection  of  indivi- 
duals who  are  truly  eminent  in  their  respective  vocations,  and  that  such 
only  should  be  selected  as  have  performed  most  to  enhance  the  fame 
and  perpetuity  of  our  country,  or  conferred  the  greatest  benefits  on  the 
society  in  which  they  live. 

In  the  earlier  ages  of  the  Athenian  republic  the  Athenians  rivalled 
each  other  in  acts  of  patriotic  devotion  to  their  country.  They  embel- 
lished their  city  with  gorgeous  palaces,  with  magnificent  temples,  and 
with  almost  a  living,  breathing  statuary  of  Pentelican  and  Parian  mar- 
ble, embodying  the  virtuous  deeds  of  their  patriots  and  statesmen,  their 
sages  and  orators,  their  heroes  and  warriors,  as  illustrious  examples  of 
virtue  and  heroism  to  be  inculcated  and  emulated  by  coming  ages. 
True,  we  do  not  propose  to  perpetuate  the  virtues  of  eminent  Amencans 
in  a  statuary  of  brass  or  marble ;  but  our  purpose  is,  to  accomplish  the 
same  great  object  in  equally  as  imperishable  a  form,  and  one  much  more 
useful  and  instructive.  Our  pages  shall  relate  the  history  of  those  who 
have  succeeded  in  buffeting  the  cold  waves  of  poverty, — who  have  suc- 
cessfully braved  the  storms  and  tempests  of  adversity, — whose  energy 
and  decision  of  character  have  overcome  every  obstacle  which  surround- 
ed their  pathway  to  eminence  and  distinction,  and  who  have  become 
prominent  in  some  profession  or  calling.  To  these  we  shall  refer  the 
young  men  of  America,  as  bright  and  glorious  examples  worthy  to  be 
imitated  and  emulated..  The  fact  that  our  public  honors  are  open  to 
the  attainment  of  every  citizen,  is  a  prospect  which  fills  the  soul  of  the 
ambitious,  and  rouses  every  faculty  of  mind  and  body  to  exert  its  utmost 
force.  It  is  needless  to  remark  on  the  extended  information  and  delight 
we  derive  from  the  multiplication  of  portraits  by  engraving,  or  on  the 
more  important  advantages  resulting  from  the  study  of  biography. 
Separately  considered,  the  one  affords  an  amusement  not  less  innocent 
than  elegant,  inculcates  the  rudiments,  or  aids  the  progress  of  taste,  and 
rescues  from  the  hand  of  time  the  perishable  monuments  raised  by  the 
pencil  or  the  daguerreian  art.  The  other — while  it  i^erhaps,  the  more 
agreeable  branch  of  historical  literature — is  certainly  the  more  useful  in 


PREFACE.  VII 

its  moral  eflfects  ;  stating  the  known  circumstances  and  endeavoring  to 
unfold  the  secret  motives  of  human  conduct ;  selecting  all  that  is  worthy 
of  being  recorded  ;  bestowing  its  lasting  encomiums  and  chastisements,  it 
at  once  infonus  and  invigorates  the  mind,  warms  and  mends  the  heart. 
It  is,  however,  from  the  combination  of  portrait  and  biography  that  we 
reap  the  utmost  degree  of  utility  and  pleasure  which  can  be  derived 
from  them.  As,  in  contemplating  the  portrait  of  an  eminent  person, 
we  long  to  be  instructed  in  his  history,  so,  in  considering  his  actions,  we 
are  anxious  to  behold  his  countenance.  So  earnest  is  this  desire,  that 
the  imagination  is  generally  ready  to  coin  a  set  of  features,  or  to  con- 
ceive a  character  to  supply  the  painful  absence  of  one  or  the  other.  It 
is  impossible  to  conceive  a  work  which  ought  to  be  more  interesting  than 
one  which  will  exhibit  before  our  progeny  their  fathers  as  they  lived, 
accompanied  with  such  memoirs  of  their  lives  and  characters  as  shall 
furnish  a  comparison  of  persons  and  countenances  with  sentiments  and 
actions. 

The  memoirs  are  accurate  and  authentic,  recourse  having  been  invari- 
ably had  to  the  most  competent  and  unequivocal  authorities  in  the 
statement  of  facts.  Each  sketch  is  accompanied  by  an  exact  and  well 
executed  portrait  of  its  subject,  engraved  in  the  best  manner  on  steel, 
from  daguerreotypes,  expressly  for  the  work.  Some  of  the  first  talent  in 
the  country  has  been  employed  on  the  engravings ;  and  no  effort  has 
been  wanting  to  render  the  work  splendid  as  well  as  valuable — one  which 
will  equally  adorn  the  library  or  embellish  the  parlor. 

While  preserving  the  memory  and  perpetuating  the  living  images  of 
some  of  the  great  and  good  of  this  generation,  this  work  will  also  place 
before  the  public  examples  begetting  an  emulation  which  must  kindle 
that  honorable  ambition,  forming  the  main  incentive  to  vigorous  exertion 
and  great  and  noble  actions.  And  if,  in  but  a  single  instance,  the  record 
of  one  of  these  lives,  from  obscurity  up  through  the  arduous  paths  of 
manhood  to  distinction,  shall  kindle  laudable  ambition,  invigorate 
patriotic  resolves,  or  cheer  afresh  the  struggling  aspirant  to  renewed 
and  incessant  endeavors,  the  author  will  feel  that  his  labors  have  not 
been  unrewarded. 


CONTENTS. 


BIERCE,  LUCIUS  V.   of  Akron,  Ohio;   Lawyer,   Statesman, 

and  Soldier,  ........       247 

BOUTELLE,   TIMOTHY,  of  Waterville,  Maine;  Lawyer  and 

Statesman,    .........         41 

BRISBANE,  A.  H.  of  Charleston,  South  Carolina ;  Soldier  and 

Planter, 311 

BROOKS,  CHARLES,  of  Medford,  Massachusetts ;  Author  and 

Clergyman,  .........       257 

BROOKS,  NATHAN  C.  of  Baltimore,  Maryland ;  Author  and 

Teacher, 161 

BROWN,  WILLIAM  G.  of  Kingwood,  Virginia ;  Lawyer  and 

Statesman,    .........       333 

CHRISTY,  WILLIAM,  of  New  Orleans,  Louisiana ;  Lawyer  and 

Soldier, 3*75 

CO  ALE,  JAMES  M.  of  Frederick,  Maryland ;  Merchant,  .         .       299 

CONVERSE,  E.  A.  of  Tolland,  Connecticut ;  Banker  and  Mer- 
chant, ..........         91 

CREY,  FREDERICK,  of  Baltimore,  Maryland,         .         .         .433 

CRAWFORD,   JOEL,    of   Early    County,   Georgia;    Lawyer, 

Statesman,  and  Planter, 17*7 

CUSHMAN,  HENRY  W.  of  Bernardston,  Massachusetts;  States- 
man, and  formerly  Lieutenant-Governor,         ...         29 

DICKERSON,  CORNELIUS  S.  of  Dover,  New  Jersey ;  Farmer 

and  Banker, .........       253 

EDDY,  ZECHARIAH,  of  Middleboro',  Massachusetts ;  Laivyer,  5 

FLETCHER,    ELIJAH,  of  Amherst,    Virginia;    Planter    and 

Statesman,    .........         15 

FINLAYSON,  JOHN,  of  Jefferson  County,  Florida  ;  Planter  and 

Statesman,    .........       453 

FISHER,  GEORGE,  of  San  Francisco,  California ;  Editor,  dtc, 

now  Secretary  of  the  California  Land  Commission,    .         .       441 

GOTT,  JAMES  R.  of  Rockport,  Massachusetts ;  Banker,  .         .         54 

HAYT,  SAMUEL  A.  of  Fishkill,  New  York ;  Banker  and  Mer- 
chant ;  President  of  the  Fishkill  Bank,  ....       365 

HITCHCOCK,  PETER  (deceased),   late   of  Painesville,   Ohio; 

Jurist  ;  for  many  years  Chief  Justice  of  Ohio,         .         .       183 

KOCK,  CHARLES,  of  New  Orleans,   Louisiana ;  Planter  and 

Merchant, ^^   .  407 

LEE,  OLIVER  H.  of  New  York;  ^w^weer,    .     ^^  .  271 


CONTENTS.  Xr 


PAGE 


McKAY,  DONALD  L.  of  Georgetown,  South  Carolina  ;  Banker 

and  Planter^         ........         21 

McHENRY,  JOHN  H.  of  Hartford,   Kentucky;   Lawyer  and 

Statesman,  .........       413 

MARSHALL,  BENJAMIN,  of  Troy,  New  York ;  Merchant  and 

Manufacturer,      .         .         .         .         .         .         .     *    .  1 

MONKUR,  J.  C.  S.  of  Baltimore,  Maryland ;  Physician,  Pro- 
fessor, &c.,  in  the  Washington  University,       .         .         .       435 

MORELAND,  JOHN  F.  of  Heard  County,  Georgia ;  Physician 

and  Planter, 28& 

PEABODY,  GEORGE,  of  Danvers,  Massachusetts  ;  Banker  and 

Merchant  in  London,     .         .         .         .         .         .         .137 

PETERS,  FREDERICK  G.  of  Nelson  County,  Virginia ;  Physi- 
cian and  Planter, ........       255 

ROSS,  WILLIAM,  of  Pittsfield,  Illinois ;  Merchant,  .         .       427 

RUSSELL,  WILLIAM  J.  of  Lawrenceville,  Georgia ;  Physician 

and  Planter,         .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .281 

SHELTON,  GEORGE,  of  Rochester,  New  York;  Merchant,     .       275 

SIMMONS,    JAMES  P.   of   Lawrenceville,    Georgia;    Lawyer, 

Statesman,  and  Planter,        ......         79 

SIMON,  EDWARD,  of  Saint  Martinsville,  Louisiana;  Lawyer 

and  Planter,  ........       409 

SMITH,  JOSEPH  H.  of  Dover,  New  Hampshire;    Physician 

and  Statesman,     ........         45 

TOWSON,  NATHAN,  of  Maryland  ;  Paymaster- General  of  the 

U.  S.  Army, 95 

TRAIN,  ASA   W.   of   Milford,    Connecticut ;     Clergyman  and 

Statesman,    ........  .     455 

VAN  ANTWERP,  VERPLANCK,  of  Keokuk,  Iowa ;  Lawyer 

and  Statesman,      ........       337 

WASHINGTON,  W.  H.  of  Newbern,  North  Carolina ;  Lawyer 

and  Statesman,      ........       359 

WILSON,  JOEL  W.  of  Tiffin,  Ohio ;  Lawyer  and  Statesman,  .       447 


CONTENTS. 


STATES   ALPHABETICALLY   ARRANGED. 


PAGE 

CALIFORNIA- 
GEORGE  FISHER,  of  San  Francisco,  Author  and  Lawyer, 
now  Secretary  of  tlie  California  Land  Commission,  .  441 

CONNECTICUT- 

E.  A.  C01^YERSE,oiTo[\md,  Banker  and  Merchant,  .        .     91 
ASA  M.  TRAIN,  of  Milford,  Clergyman  and  Statesman,         .  455 

FLORIDA- 
JOHN  FINLAYSON,  of  Jefferson  County,  Planter  and  States- 
man,         453 

GEORGIA- 
ELI  H.  BAXTER,  of  Sparta,  Laxoyer  and  Jurist,  formerly 
Judge  of  the  Supreme  Court, 285 

JOEL  CRAWFORD,  of  Early  County,  Lawyer,  Statesman, 
and  Planter, 177 

JOHN  F.  MORELAND,  of  Heard  County,  Physician  and 
Planter, 289 

WILLIAM^P.  RUSSELL,   of  Lawrenceville,  Physician  and 
Planter, 281 

JAMES  P.  SIMMONS,  of  Lawrenceville,  Lawyer,  Statesman, 
and  Planter, 79 


XIV  CONTEXTS. 

ILLINOIS-  PAGE 

WILLIAM  ROSS,  of  Pittsfield,  Merchant,      .        .        .         .  42Y 

lOWA- 

VER  PLANCK  VAN  ANTWERP,  of  Keokuk,  Laivi/er  and 
Statesman,        .........  337 

KENTUCKY- 
JAMES   GUTHRIE,  of  Louisville,  Lawyer  and  Statesman, 

Secretary  of  the  Treasury, 223 

JOHN  H.  McHENRY,  of  Hartford,  Lawyer  and  Statesman,  .  413 

LOUISIANA- 
WILLIAM  CHRISTY,  of  New  Orleans,  Lawyer  and  Soldier,  375 
CHARLES  KOCK,  of  New  Orleans,  Merchant  and  Planter,  .  409 
EDWARD  SIMON,  of  St.  Martinsville,  Lawyer  and  Planter, .  409 

MAINE- 
TIMOTHY  BOUTELLE,  of  Waterville,  Lawyer  and  States- 
man,        ..........     41 

MARYLAND- 
NATHAN    COVINGTON   BROOKS,  of  Baltimore,    Author 

and  Teacher, 161 

JAMES  M.  COALE,  of  Frederick  City,  Merchant, .        .         .299 

FREDERICK  CREY,  of  Baltimore, 433 

HENRY  M.  BASH,  of  Baltimore,  Merchant,  .  .  .431 
JOHN  C.  S.  MONKUR,  of  Baltimore,  Physician,  Professor, 

&c.,  in  the  Washington  University,  .....  435 
NATHAN  TOWSON,  Paymaster  General,  U.  S.  Army,       .     95 

MASSACHUSETTS- 
STEPHEN  M.   ALLEN,  of  Boston,  Merchant   and  Banker, 

President  of  the  Cochituate  Bank,  .  .  .  .  .67 
CHARLES  BROOKS,  of  Medford,  Author  and  Clergyman,  .  257 
CALEB  GUSHING,  of  Newburyport,  LaivT/er,  Soldier,  and 

Statesman,  Attorney  General,    ......  24S 

HENRY   WYLES   CUSHMAN,  of  Bernardston,  Statesman, 

and  formerly  Lieutenant  Governor, 29 

ZECHARIAH  EDDY,  of  Middleboro,  Lawyer,  ^  •  •  ^ 
J.  R.  GOTT,  of  Rockport,  Banker,  .  .  .  .  .54 
GEORGE  PEABODY,  of  Danvers,  Banker,  and  Merchant  in 

London, 137 


CONTENTS,  XV 

MICHIGAN-  PAGE 

ROBERT  McLELLAND,  of  Lansing,  Lawyer  and  Statesman, 
Secretary  of  the  Interior, 231 

MISSISSIPPI- 
JEFFERSON  DAVIS,  Soldier,  Planter,  and  Statesman,  Se- 
cretary of  War, 235 

NEW    HAMPSHIRE- 
JOSEPH  HAVEN  SMITH,  of  Dover,  Physician  and  States- 
inan,         .         .         .         .         .         .         ,         .         .         .     45 

FRANKLIN  PIERCE,  of  Concord,  Lawyer  and  Statesman, 
President  of  the  United  States, 203 

NEW    JERSEY- 
CORNELIUS  S.  DICKERSON,  of  Dover,  Farmer  and  Banker,  253 

NEW    YORK- 
SAMUEL  A.  HAYT,  of  Fishkill,  Banker  and  Merchant,  Pre- 
sident of  the  Fishkill  Bank, 365 

OLIVER  HARRISON  LEE,  of  New  York,  Engineer,     .        .  271 
WILLIAM  L.  MARCY,  of  Troy,  Lawyer  and  Statesman,  Se- 
cretary of  State,         215 

BENJAMIN  MARSHALL,  of  Troy,  Merchant  and  Manufac- 
turer,      .         .        .        .         .         .         .         .         .         .1 

GEORGE  SHELTON,  of  Rochester,  iferc^awi,       .        .        .275 

NORTH    CAROLINA- 
JAMES  C.  DOBBIN,  of  Fayetteville,  Lawyer  and  Statesman, 

Secretary  of  the  Navy, 65 

WILLL\M   H.  WASHINGTON,  of  Newbern,  Lawyer  and 
Statesman,        .........  359 

OHIQ- 

LUCIUS  V.   BIERCE,  of  Akron,  Lawyer,  Statesman,   and 
Soldier, 247 

PETER  HITCHCOCK  (deceased),  of  Painesville,  Jurist,  for 
many  years  Chief  Justice  of  Ohio,       .         .         .         .         .183- 
JOEL  W.  WILSON,  of  Tiffin,  Lawyer  and  Statesman,  .         .  447 

PENNSYLVANIA—^.. 

JOHN  ANsi?ACH,  Jr.,  of  Philadelphia,  Jl/"«TA«n/,         .         .309 
JAMES  CAMPBELL,  of  Philadelphia,  Lawyer  and  Statesman, 
Postmaster  General, 239 


XVI  CONTENTS. 

SOUTH    CAROLINA-  pace 

ABBOTT    HALL    BRISBANE,  of  Charleston,  Soldier  and 

Planter, 317 

DONALD  L.  McKAY,  of  Georgetown,  ^an^er  and  Planter,     21 

VIRGINIA- 
WILLIAM  G.  BROWN,  of  Ringwood,  Lawyer  and  States- 
man,        ..........  333 

ELIJAH  FLETCHER,  of  Amherst,  Planter, .         .         .        .15 
FREDERICK  G.  PETERS,  of  Nelson  County,  Physician  and 
Planter,  '........  .255 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES 

OF 

EMINENT  AMERICANS, 


WITH  PORTRAITS. 


BENJAMIN    MARSHALL, 

OF  NEW-YORK. 

The  subject  of  tlie  present  sketch  has  no  claims  to  political  distinc- 
tion, far  less  to  military  renown.  His  triumphs  are  of  a  less  brilliant, 
order  ;  but  whether  less  associated  with  the  wellbeing  of  his  race,  and 
with  developing  the  resources,  and  fortifying  the  powers  of  a  nation, 
than  those  of  the  political  leader  or  of  the  military  chieftain,  the  true 
friends  of  humanity  must  judge.  The  wants  of  society  have  at  last 
compelled  one  of  the  aspirants  to  empire  to  proclaim  empire  to  be  peace, 
and  to  promise  to  the  people  protection  to  the  pursuits  of  peace,  in 
order  to  make  them  the  willing  supporters  of  a  throne,  the  pillars  of 
which  have  heretofore  been  supposed  to  rest  upon  readiness  for  war- 
like achievements.  The  pursuits  of  industry  are  at  last  admitted  to 
furnish  the  fairest  field  for  the  triumphs  of  man  ;  and  the  earliest  and 
most  successful  of  its  cultivators  are  entitled  to  the  most  grateful  re- 
membrance of  their  successors. 

Benjamin  Marshall  is  among  the  first  of  those  whose  sagacity, 
industry  and  capital,  have  laid  the  foundation  of  the  commercial  and 
manufacturing  progress  of  this  city  and  state.  His  ancestors  emigra- 
ted from  Scotland,  and  were  the  earliest  settlers  of  the  market-town 
of  Huddersfield,  in  England,  where  they  erected  the  second  house  in 
the  place,  in  which  some  of  their  descendants  still  reside.  He  was 
the  youngest  of  six  brothers,  all  of  whom  were  regularly  educated 
as  manufacturers  either  of  woolen,  cotton  or  iron.  His  own  early 
pursuit  was  that  of  the  cotton  manufacture,  and  at  the  age  of  twenty 
years,  in  partnership  with  his  brother  Joseph,  he  brought  an  invoice  of 
cotton  goods  to  this  city,  in  which  he  arrived  on  the  sixteenth  of 
August,  1803.  The  period  for  the  establishment  of  the  manufacture 
in  this  country  was  then  premature,  and  his  ideas  were  turned  to  com- 
merce.    The  periodical  pestilence  of  the  city  of  New- York  was  then 

VOL.  III.  1 


:*  SKETCHES  OF   EMINENT  AMERICANS 

Tagmg,  and  his  friends,  Isaac  Wright  and  Francis  Thompson,  invited 
him  to  their  residence,  in  what  was  then  the  country,  the  old  Stuyve- 
sant  mansion,  in  what  is  now  13th-Street.  His  acquaintance  with  these 
friends  ripened  into  an  intimacy,  leading  to  a  connection  in  business 
which  was  terminated  only  by  their  death.  Francis  Thompson  was 
largely  engaged  in  the  importation  of  woolen  goods,  and  built  a  store  in 
Beekman  street,  where  he  was  joined  by  Benjamin  Marshall,  who  im- 
ported cotton  manufactures.  The  remittances  for  their  importations 
were  made  in  cotton,  which  led  not  only  to  their  becoming  interested  in 
shipping,  but  to  Benjamin  Marshall's  passing  his  winters  in  Georgia, 
where  he  witnessed  the  earliest  cultivation  of  the  cotton  plant,  and 
became  intimate  with  Turnbull,  the  first  of  the  cotton  planters  in  that 
state.  This  business  was  interrupted  by  the  embargo,  and  terminated 
by  the  war  of  1812.  After  the  war,  Benjamin  Marshall,  in  connection 
with  Jeremiah  Thompson,  resumed  the  importing  and  shipping  busi- 
ness in  the  ordinary  way,  in  Pearl-street,  where  each  of  them  built  a 
store,  and  continued  the  business  until  the  year  1818.  The  latter 
year  witnessed  the  commencement  of  a  new  era  in  the  latter  branch 
of  business.  The  ancient  mariners  of  that  period  of  our  commercial 
history  considered  it  a  presumptuous  defiance  of  Providence  to  promise 
the  departure  of  a  ship  for  a  regular  day,  without  reference  to  winds 
or  weather.  These  simple,  perhaps  superstitious  men  were  not  yet 
prepared  either  for  the  subsequent  punctuality  of  steam,  or  for  the  ap- 
proximation to  it  which  was  possible  without  the  intervention  of  that 
effective  agent.  Isaac  Wright  and  Son,  Francis  and  Jeremiah  Thomp- 
son and  Benjamin  Marshall  then  established  the  first  regular  packet 
line  to  England,  the  first  ship  of  which,  the  James  Monroe,  left  port  in 
a  northeasterly  snow-storm  in  January,  1819.  The  business  at  that 
time  was  small,  the  importations  of  measurement  goods  rarely  exceed- 
ing three  thousand  tons  per  month,  but  in  four  years  the  necessities  of 
the  commercial  public  called  for  a  duplication  of  the  line.  The  line 
then  sailed  twice  a  month,  and  the  success  of  the  system  soon  became 
so  complete  that  line  after  line  was  established,  in  imitation  of  this, 
to  other  ports  and  other  countries,  until  regular,  periodical  and  punctual 
lines  in  every  direction  conveyed  passengers  and  goods  from  America 
to  Europe  and  from  Europe  back  to  America.  This  earliest  line,  of 
which  Benjamin  Marshall  was  one  of  the  founders,  from  its  well- 
known  signal  of  a  tar  barrel  hoisted  to  the  head  of  the  top-gallant-mast, 
was  known  as  the  Black  Ball  Line,  and  is  still  continued  by  the  same 
name  under  other  proprietors. 

The  production  of  cotton  having  largely  increased  in  the  southern 
states,  and  the  tariff  on  imported  goods  at  the  time  assisting  the  infant 
growth  of  manufactures,  Benjamin  Marshall,  on  his  return  from  a 
second  visit  to  his  family  and  native  country,  in  1825,  determined  to 
withdraw  from  commerce  and  devote  his  means  and  his  energies  to 
manufactures.  For  this  pursuit  he  was  eminently  prepared,  not  only 
by  his  early  education,  but  by  the  benevolence  of  his  disposition,  and 
by  a  principle  actuating  him  to  use  his  wealth  for  the  benefit  of  others 
as  well  as  himself.  Although  he  knew  that  much  might  be  done  by 
private  benevolence,  yet  he  felt  that  the  hungry  could  not  be  fed  and 
the  naked  clothed  in  any  mode  so  satisfactory  or  effective  as  by  fur- 


BENJAMIN  MARSHALL,  OF  NEW-VORK.  3 

nishing  them  the  means  of  feeding  and  clothing  themselves  by  the  fair 
wages  of  a  fair  day's  work.  In  these  views  his  brother  Joseph  joined 
him,  and  in  connection  with  Benjamin  Wolcott,  they  built,  in  1825, 
the  factory  called  the  New-York  Mills,  the  goods  of  which  are  known 
by  names  and  nmnbers  to  every  trader  in  the  United  States.  In  1826 
they  established  the  Hudson  Print  Works  and  Ida  Mills  Cotton  Facto- 
ry at  Troy,  which  they  carried  on  together  till  1834,  when  they  dis- 
solved their  business  connection,  Joseph  taking  the  print  works  and 
Benjamin  the  manufactories,  which  had  then  become  the  largest  in  the 
state.  The  fluctuations  in  business  led  to  the  sale  of  the  print  works 
before  the  death  of  Joseph  Marshall,  which  occurred  in  1847,  about 
which  time  Benjamin  Marshall  sold  his  interest  in  the  New-York 
Mills  to  the  present  proprietors,  and  devoted  himself  exclusively  to  his 
establishment  at  Troy.  By  timneling  and  other  improvements  he  has 
made  a  water-power,  naturally  abundant  and  effective,  perhaps  the 
finest  in  the  world.  This  power  is  applied  to  the  various  manufac- 
tures of  paper,  hardware,  cotton  goods,  and  tapestry  and  velvet  carpets. 
The  first  looms  that  have  succeeded  in  the  manufacture  of  the  latter 
description  of  carpeting  by  power,  were  erected  here. 

Benjamin  Marshall  was  married  in  1803  to  Niobe  Stanton,  the  only 
child  of  Captain  John  Stanton.  With  this  lady,  well  known  and 
affectionately  remembered  by  the  pious  and  benevolent,  and  devoutly 
blessed  by  the  poor  of  her  day,  he  lived  in  uninterrupted  harmony  and 
happiness  till  1823.  Now  in  his  declining  years,  with  the  retrospect 
of  a  life,  during  which  he  may  well  be  conscious  of  not  having  buried 
his  talent  in  the  earth,  he  has  leased  out  his  active  business  interests 
to  others,  and  occupies  himself  almost  exclusively  with  the  planning 
and  building  of  an  infirmary  for  the  sick  and  lame  at  Troy.  This  in- 
stitution, with  a  large  endowment  from  himself,  and  with  the  aid  of 
many  of  the  benevolent  and  public-spirited  citizens  of  Troy,  is  destined 
to  become  one  of  the  most  useful  and  laudable  establishments  in  the 
country,  and  the  ornament  and  pride  of  the  city  in  which  it  is  erected. 
Let  the  "  merchant  princes"  and  the  "  cotton  lords"  of  our  land,  (as 
they  are  sometimes  invidiously  termed,)  follow  this  example,  and  Ave 
shall  soon  equal  in  public  establishments  for  benevolent  purposes  the 
countries  which  have  existed  for  centuries,  and  where  the  need  of 
them,  happily  for  us,  is  tenfold  that  of  our  own. 

On  a  review  of  the  half  century  which  has  passed  since  the  subject 
of  this  slight  memoir  landed  on  our  shores,  he  might  find  abundant 
cause  to  congratulate  himself  upon  the  worldly  success  of  his  enter- 
prise, his  industry  and  his  perseverance.  In  his  mercantile  career  his 
bark  has  ridden  in  triumph  over  the  shoals  and  quicksands  of  fluctua- 
ting credit,  through  the  forced  calms  of  non-intercourse  and  embargo, 
and  has  survived  unharmed  the  storms  of  war  ;  from  the  infancy  to  the 
maturity  of  his  manufacturing  enterprises  he  has  seen  hundreds  of  his 
collaborators  sink  under  the  ruins  of  establisliments  prostrated  by  sud- 
deatf  changes  in  national  policy  and  by  violent  financial  convulsions, 
but  he  has  been  enabled  to  carry  his  own,  various  as  they  have  been, 
through  all  the  changes  of  tariffs,  the  demolition  of  the  national  and 
successive  extinction  of  hundreds  of  state  banks,  and  through  all  the 
effects  upon  credit  produced  by  state  repudiations  and  almost  universal 


SKETCHES  OF  EMINENT  AMERICANS. 


bankruptcy.  Who  shall  say  that  the  souls  of  men  of  business  have 
not  been  as  much  tried  through  this  half  century  as  those  of  patriots 
were  tried  through  the  quarter  that  preceded  it  1 

The  writer  of  this  can  testify  from  personal  knowledge  that  the  ex- 
ertions of  Benjamin  Marshall  have  been  sustained  throughout  this 
whole  period  and  tlirough  all  the  perils  which  from  time  to  time  have 
beset  his  path,  by  an  unfailing  trust  in  Providence,  and  that  he  looks 
to  the  Giver  of  every  good  and  perfect  gift  as  the  Author  of  all  his  suc- 
cess. In  this  feeling,  or  rather  principle,  his  early  associates,  who 
have  been  long  resting  from  their  labors,  sympathized  with  him  entire- 
ly ;  and  when,  in  the  due  course  of  nature,  he  shall  pass  like  them  from 
a  useful  and  blameless  life  to  a  peaceful  and  hopeful  death,  he  will 
leave  to  his  survivors  an  example  in  the  former,  and  a  proof  that  the 
righteous  are  never  forsaken  in  the  latter. 


^'^^ 


Oy  TLYliOVTH  COVN'J-yrMASS 


ZECHARIAH  EDDY,  OF  MASSACHUSETTS.  5 

ZECHARIAH  EDDY, 

OF  MIDDLEBOROUGH,  MASSACHUSETTS. 

The  subject  of  this  notice  lives  on  an  ancestral  estate  in  Middlebo- 
roiigh.  His  pilgrim  ancestor,  Samuel  Eddy,  (son  of  William  Eddy,  a 
non-conforming  minister  of  the  county  of  Kent,  England,)  joined  the 
pilgrim  fathers  at  Plymouth  in  1630,  accompanied  by  his  brother  John, 
Avho,  in  1631,  joined  the  planters  of  Massachusetts,  having  been 
recommended  to  their  hospitality  and  fellowship  by  Governor  Bradford 
and  his  assistants,  by  a  letter  to  Governor  Winthrop,  a,  facsimile  of 
which  may  be  found  in  the  Historical  and  Genealogical  Register  pub- 
lished in  Boston,  vol.  ii,  pages  240,  244. 

The  Middleborough  lands,  the  homestead  of  the  present  Mr.  Eddy, 
were  purchased  by  the  ancestor,  Samuel,  and  twenty-five  others,  of 
the  local  Sachem  Wampatuck,  and  of  Tispaquin,  "  the  black 
Sachem,"  as  early  as  1662,  and  afterwards  confirmed  to  them  by  Gov- 
ernor Bradford,  of  Plymouth,  and  his  assistants  in  the  government ; 
and  in  the  division  of  the  proprietary,  this  homestead  was  assigned  to 
said  Samuel,  (as  was  also  several  other  portions  of  the  proprietary,) 
and  from  him  has  descended  to  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  from  father 
to  son  successively  without  interruption,  four  descents  only  having  in- 
tervened :  Samuel,  Obadiah,  Samuel,  Zechariah,  Joshua,  Zechariah. 
More  than  two  hundred  families  of  this  descent  now  reside  in  different 
parts  of  the  country,  and  in  ten  or  more  different  states.  Middlebo- 
rough, in  which  there  are  half  a  dozen  other  families,  was  so  called 
because  it  was  the  half-way,  or  "  middle-place,"  between  the  seat  of 
the  pilgrims  and  that  of  their  friend,  Massassowat,  the  great  Sachem 
of  Pawkanawkitt,  whose  jurisdiction  extended  over  all  the  tribes  in 
"  the  Old  Colony,"  or  rather  the  lands  which  have  since  been  so  called, 
and  which  included  the  present  counties  of  Plymouth,  Barnstable, 
Bristol,  Nantucket  and  Duke's.  It  was  then  called  Namasket,  which 
also  is  now  the  name  of  the  beautiful  river  which  flows  from  the  So- 
wampset  and  other  large  ponds  in  that  town,  through  the  whole  ex- 
tent of  its  territory,  (which  is  of  greater  extent  than  that  of  any  other 
town  in  the  state,)  affording  excellent  water  privileges,  which  are  well 
occupied  and  improved  by  the  inhabitants.  It  is  an  inland  town,  and 
the  central  village  is  finely  located  on  "  the  Namasket  Hills,"  thirty- 
six  miles  from  Boston,  at  the  junction  of  the  Fall  River  Rail-road  and 
the  Cape  Cod  Bran-ch,  fifteen  miles  from  "  the  Rock  of  the  Pilgrims." 
It  is  a  place  of  considerable  business,  commercial  and  manufacturing, 
having  two  elegant  churches,  and  a  flourishing  literary  institutionof  a 
high  order. 

Mr.  Eddy  was  born  December  6,  1780,  and  is  one  of  the  eight  sons 
of  Capt.  Joshua  Eddy,  of  the  army  of  the  Revolution — survivor  of  the 
battles  of  Saratoga  and  Monmouth,  who  resided  on  a  portion  of  the  an- 
cestral estate,  and  who  deceased  May  1,  1833,  aged  eighty-five  years, 
within  four  days — a  man  full  of  the  pilgrim  blood  and  the  pilgrim  spirit, 
which  he  inherited  not  only  from  his  paternal,  but  his  maternal  ances- 


6  SKETCHES  OF  EMINENT  AMERICANS. 

tor,  Governor  Bradford  ;  of  a  robust,  athletic  and  vigorous  physical  con- 
stitution, strong  and  persevering  intellect,  great  decision  of  character, 
and  a  large  and  generous  heart.  His  wife  also  was  of  pilgrim  descent 
and  character,  being  great-granddaughter  of  Elder  Faunce,  the  most 
distinguished  of  the  sons  of  the  pilgrims,  whose  praise  was  in  all  the 
colony.  She  knew  what  the  discipline  of  the  fathers  and  mothers 
was,  and  she  trained  up  her  ten  children  in  that  discipline,  and  every 
one  of  them  have  "  attested  that  those  whom  they  called  fathers  did 
beget  them,"  and  "  shown  the  mettle  of  their  pasture."  She  died 
1838,  aged  eighty-two  years.  Six  of  the  sons  survive,  and  are  heads 
of  families  and  in  active  life,  one  of  them  older  than  the  one  we  are 
giving  an  account  of. 

Mr.  Eddy  had  been  trained  in  agricultural  affairs  until  the  age  of 
thirteen,  when  he  was  put  under  the  charge  of  "  Master  Alden,"  at 
Raynham,  a  distinguished  teacher,  from  whose  school  he  entered 
Brown  University,  considerably  under  the  age  of  fifteen,  and  graduated 
there  in  1799  ;  and  was  after  a  fellow  of  that  university.  At  his  com- 
mencement he  spoke  the  salutatory  addresses  in  Latin,  and  an  oration  on 
the  danger  of  foreign  influence  on  our  government ;  the  valedictory  ad- 
dresses were  assigned  to  J.  Chaplin,  late  President  of  Waterville  Col- 
lege. His  chum  was  James  Thompson,  D.  D.,  of  Barre,  one  of  his 
classmates,  and  always  his  special  friend.  Jonathan  Marcy,  S.  T.  D., 
was  president  during  his  collegiate  life,  and  was  his  fast  friend  ;  he 
forthwith  recommended  him  to  the  trustees  of  a  seminary  at  Newport, 
R.  I.,  where  he  was  a  teacher  nearly  a  year,  when  by  another  recom- 
mendation to  the  trustees  of  "  Plainfield  Academy,"  by  President 
Marcy,  he  was  called  to  the  preceptorship  of  that  academy  for  a  year, 
which  terminated  by  the  entry  of  a  large  class  from  that  seminary  to 
an  advanced  standing  in  several  different  classes  at  Yale  College.  At 
this  time  he  was  desirous  to  commence  the  study  of  the  law,  but  an 
invitation  came  from  Stonington,  where  a  new  academy  had  just  been 
completed,  and  in  compliance  with  the  earnest  wishes  of  his  father, 
he  took  charge  of  that  school ;  before  the  year  expired  an  invitation 
came  from  the  trustees  of  the  Bridgwater  Academy,  to  take  the  pre- 
ceptorship there  for  a  year,  which,  with  great  reluctance,  he  accepted. 
At  the  year's  end,  a  large  class  went  from  that  school  to  Brown  Uni- 
versity. 

His  reputation  as  a  teacher  was  sufficiently  encouraging  and  even 
flattering ;  but  he  had  selected  the  law  for  his  profession,  and  was  im- 
patient for  his  favorite  work.  He  read  law  with  Judge  Thomas,  of 
Plymouth,  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  of  the  Common  Pleas  in  1806, 
and  to  that  of  the  Supreme  Judicial  Court  in  1808,  and  a  counsellor  of 
that  court,  in  a  year  or  two  after,  according  to  the  rules  then  existing, 
but  which  have  since  been  abolished.  From  this  time  the  volumes  of 
the  Massachusetts  Reports  containing  the  cases  argued  and  deter- 
mined in  that  court  until  1847  (when  he  retired  from  the  bar,)  are  the 
records  of  some  three  hundred  cases  which  were  argued  by  him  before 
all  the  judges,  being  generally  cases  tried  at  7iisi  prius,  which  were  re- 
served upon  questions  of  law  for  the  consideration  of  the  whole  court. 
The  arguments  in  many  cases  are  wholly  omitted  in  the  reports,  and 
in  others  the  outline  only  is  given.     The  cases  at  nisi  prius  were 


ZECHARIAH  EDDY,  OF  MASSACHUSETTS.  7 

muoli  more  numerous  in  that  court,  and  still  more  numerous  in  the 
Common  Pleas  ;  but  there  is  no  provision  of  law  for  reporting  these 
cases. 

His  first  case  in  the  Common  Pleas  was  tried  upon  special  plead- 
ings ;  the  case  was  intricate,  and  they  were  drawn  with  care,  and 
were  the  instruments  of  success  ;  presenting,  in  the  close,  the  exact 
issue  to  the  jury.  It  was  the  first  set  filed  in  that  court  for  many 
years.  His  last  case  was  Morton  vs.  Deane,  (1847,)  Met.  Rep.,  on 
which  a  large  amount  of  damages  had  been  found  for  the  plaintiff,  and 
which  depended  upon  the  validity  of  the  e7itri/  of  a  sale  at  auction  by 
the  auctioneer ;  in  this  he  successfully  argued  against  the  sufiiciency 
of  the  entry. 

He  confined  his  practice  strictly  to  the  courts  of  the  Old  Cx)lony, 
except  that  occasionally  he  was  called  to  try  a  few  cases  in  the  Cir- 
cuit Court  at  Boston  or  Providence,  or  aided  a  special  friend  in  a  dis- 
tant county.  He  had  the  reputation  of  fidelity  to  his  clients,  and  of 
well  understanding  the  law  and  the  facts  of  his  cases,  many  of  which 
required  diligent  research  and  exhausting  labor.  During  the  forty 
years  of  his  professional  life,  he  was  not  absent  from  the  bar  of  his 
native  county  at  any  term  of  the  court,  except  once  on  a  voyage  to  the 
West  Indies  with  a  favorite  son  ;  it  was  a  sad  visit  and  attended  with 
the  loss  of  that  son — a  son  of  great  promise  and  ardent  hopes.  This 
was  at  St.  Croix.  He  then  took  occasion  to  visit  Cuba,  and  met  at 
Havana  his  friend,  William  A.  Crocker,  of  Taunton,  and  other  friends, 
who  aided  him  in  learning  the  habits  and  character  of  the  people  of 
that  island.  He  returned  by  Savannah,  stopping  several  weeks  at 
each  of  the  Atlantic  cities  on  his  return.  The  servitude  of  the  colored 
people  strongly  attracted  his  sympathies,  and  he  has  always  since 
been  "  a  friend  of  the  negro,"  and  desirous  of  his  emancipation  ;  but 
doubts  whether  political  action  has  any  tendency  to  produce  it.  He 
thinks  the  views  of  Dr.  Channing  on  this  subject  are  enlightened  and 
correct,  and  that  a  good  result  might  be  expected  if  generally  adopted. 

He  seldom  engaged  in  criminal  trials,  feeling  averse  to  that  branch 
of  the  practice.  He  however  appeared  for  the  vindication  of  some 
few  friends  who  were  charged  with  misdemeanors,  and  seldom  failed 
to  obtain  their  acquittal ;  he  also  assisted  the  law  officers  in  prosecu- 
ting some  special  cases  in  which  his  friends  took  a  special  interest. 

In  the  trial  of  cases  at  nisi  prius  his  object  was  to  present  the 
merits  of  the  case  distinctly  before  the  jury,  and  to  clear  them,  and 
keep  them  clear,  of  all  extraneous  matter,  and  all  that  tended  to  mys- 
tify, to  cast  doubts  or  obscurity  on  the  points  and  principles  on  which 
he  relied ;  and  then  to  make  his  appeal  to  the  good  sense  and  con- 
science of  the  jury  for  success  ;  and  in  this  he  was  seldom  disappoint- 
ed. It  was  his  choice  always  to  lead ;  that  is  to  say,  however  much 
help  was  engaged  with  him,  his  choice  was  to  make  the  opening  ad- 
dress, and  bring  forward  the  evidence,  making  no  pretension  to 
what  is  called  the  eloquence  of  the  forum.  Fully  possessed  of  all  the 
facts,  and,  as  he  believed,  the  laio,  also  applicable  to  them,  he  trusted 
to  extemporaneous  expression,  and  to  his  knowledge  of  common  life 
and  common  men,  and  his  knowledge  of  the  views  by  which  jurors  are 
influenced  and  guided,  and  especially  to  their  knowledge  of  his  pri-- 


8  SKETCHES   OF   EMINENT  AMERICANS. 

vate  and  professional  character,  that  they  would  not  doubt  m  the  sin- 
cerity of  what  he  should  state  to  them. 

In  his  legal  arguments,  addressed  to  the  whole  court,  he  propounded 
the  principles,  and  produced  the  authorities  on  which  he  relied  to  sus- 
tain them,  in  such  a  manner  that  it  was  manifest  that  his  cases  were 
well  considered  and  well  studied  ;  and  he  has  said  that  he  was  never 
surprised  by  an  authority  produced  by  an  opposing  counsel  ; — ^never 
by  a  case  which  he  had  not  read  and  considered.  He  was  always  on 
good  terms  with  the  judges,  and  never  was  charged  with  improper  or 
dishonorable  practice.  These  views  and  this  practice  limited  his  am- 
bition. He  could  not  desire  an  increase  of  professional  business,  for, 
from  the  first,  his  engagements  called  for  all  the  time  and  labor  he 
could  command,  consistently  with  the  proper  improvement  of  his  mind 
by  study,  the  proper  care  of  a  numerous  family,  and  the  performance  of 
the  incumbent  duties  of  social  life.  The  cases  which  were  settled  by 
arbitration  under  his  advice,  or  which  he,  with  the  opposing  counsel, 
brought  to  a  compromise,  were  almost  as  numerous  as  those  which 
were  tried  in  court ;  and  no  ofter  or  opportunity  of  such  settlement 
ever  failed  to  meet  his  approbation  or  his  co-operation,  if  required. 

For  a  long  time  before  the  subject  of  this  sketch  came  to  the  bar, 
the  science  of  special  pleading  had  been  very  little  attended  to.  All 
pleading  had  been  "  the  general  issue,  reserving  liberty  to  give  any 
special  matter  in  evidence." 

Judge  Parsons  had  been  appointed  chief  justice  about  the  time  of 
Mr.  Eddy's  admission  to  the  bar,  and  said  to  him  and  another,  on 
taking  the  usual  oath,  "  Young  gentlemen,  study  your  books — study 
your  books."  That  was  certainly  an  unnecessary  injunction,  so  far  as 
it  applied  to  him.  The  court  gave  notice  to  the  bar  that  they  would 
try  no  more  case's  upon  "  general  issues  and  reservations."  It  was 
then  felt  that  special  pleading  must  be  attended  to,  and  he,  for  one,  re- 
solved that  he  would  not  be  a  delinquent  in  this  matter,  nor  was  he. 
He  was  among  the  first  in  the  Old  Colony  to  give  it  a  thorough  study 
and  to  bring  it  into  practice.  His  first  case  in  the  Supreme  Judicial 
Court,  in  defence,  required  special  pleading  ;  the  plea  which  he  had 
filed  required  considerable  ability  and  skill ;  it  was  overruled,  on  de- 
murrer, in  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas,  but  was  adjudged  good  and  suf- 
ficient by  the  whole  court. 

The  science  was  to  be  pursued  by  a  rough,  weary  and  dark  road  ; 
no  Chitty  had  then  cast  any  light  upon  it — precedents  v/ere  "  few  and 
far  between" — books  were  scarce,  but  such  as  were  to  be  found,  he  ob- 
tained for  his  library.  "  Black  letters"  were  to  be  learned,  and  Coke 
upon  Littleton  to  be  mastered.  Getting  the  necessary  lights  from  the  old 
books  was,  like  the  work  of  one  of  Swift's  philosophers,  "  extracting 
sun-beams  from  cucumbers,"  but  it  was  done.  Several  of  his  first 
cases  put  his  skill  to  the  test,  and  their  successful  issue  encouraged 
him  to  persevere,  and  finally  to  acquire  the  reputation  of  "  a  good  plead- 
er." He  prepared  the  pleadings  in  a  large  portion  of  the  cases  which 
were  tried  in  the  counties  in  which  he  practised,  until  the  science  and 
the  practice  became  obsolete,  and  special  pleading  in  Massachusetts 
was  abolished  by  law.  In  the  opinion  of  the  writer,  the  last  set  of 
pleadings   which  he   prepared,  and  which  required   great  exactness, 


ZECHARIAH  EDDY,  OF  MASSACHUSETTS.  9 

both  in  form  and  substance,  and  accurate  knowledge  of  the  facts  and 
laiw  of  the  case,  is  as  good  a  precedent  as  the  books  can  furnish.  The 
pleadings  were  held  good  by  the  whole  court,  but  the  case,  for  some 
reason  unknown  to  the  writer,  is  not  reported. 

Jurisdiction  in  equity  is  limited  by  statute  in  Massachusetts  ;  so  much 
so  that  the  country  lawyers  do  not,  in  general,  engage  in  chancery 
cases.  Mr.  Eddy  declared  that  he  would  not  decline  any  honorable 
professional  engagement  which  his  books  would  enable  him  to  fulfill  ; 
and  he  pursued  this  branch  of  jurisprudence  with  such  perseverance 
and  assiduity,  that  he  became  a  good  equity  draughtsman  ;  and,  by  rea- 
son of  the  reluctance  of  the  common  law  lawyers  to  engage  in  chance- 
ry cases,  he  took  a  large  share  of  the  practice  in  these  cases  in  the 
courts  which  he  visited.  His  first  case  was  Sampson  against  Wes- 
ton, a  case  of  deceased  copartners,  founded  on  a  then  recent  statute, 
giving  the  court  chancery  jurisdiction  in  such  cases,  in  which  the 
defendant,  who,  though  himself  safe  at  law,  was  unaware  of  the 
statute,  was  adjudged  to  pay  more  than  twenty  thousand  dollars,  after 
having  paid  all  which  he  admitted  to  be  due. 

His  last  case  in  chancery  was  "  the  great  Quaker  case,"  as  it  was 
called,  the  off-shoot  of  a  schism  of  "  The  Yearly  Meeting  of  Friends  in 
New-England,"  which  was  a  considerable  time  pending,  and  recently 
argued  and  determined  in  the  Supreme  Judicial  Court  in  Massachu- 
setts. He  drew  the  voluminous  answers  in  that  case,  prepared  the 
evidence,  (several  volumes,)  and  gave  an  argumentative  view  of  the 
whole,  which  was  printed,  and  a  copy  given  to  Mr.  Webster,  who  was 
the  senior  counsel  in  the  case.  His  public  duties  as  Secretary  of 
State  did  not  admit  of  his  being  present  at  the  trial,  and  the  closing 
argument  was  made  by  Mr.  Wood,  of  New-York  city. 

The  ecclesiastical  law  in  Massachusetts  is  peculiar  to  that  state.  Like 
the  common  law,  it  is  a  collection  of  usages  both  colonial  and  provincial, 
and  domestic  usages,  and  the  works  of  standard  writers  going  back  two 
hundred  and  fifty  years,  to  the  times  of  John  Robinson,  guided  by  colo- 
nial ordinances,  and  provincial  and  state  constitutions  and  statutes,  and  a 
few  decisions  of  the  judicial  courts.  Mr.  Eddy  has  taken  a  special 
interest  in  collecting  these  writings,  usages,  ordinances,  statutes  and 
decisions  ;  has  examined  the  documents  and  memorials  of  the  Congre- 
gational order  (which  is  the  prevailing  order  of  that  state),  and  which 
are  very  voluminous,  and  written  by  learned  and  able  men,  and  has  pre- 
sented a  full  and  systematic  view  of  the  whole  subject,  and  of  the 
rights  of  the  churches,  civil  and  ecclesiastical,  according  to  the  laws 
of  that  state.  This  has  been  done,  and  communicated  from  time  to 
time  to  several  of  our  leading  religious  periodicals  and  journals  :  in  the 
Spirit  of  the  Pilgrims,  printed  at  Boston ;  the  Boston  Recorder,  and 
The  Independent,  published  in  New-York. 

In  a  sharply  contested  ecclesiastical  case,  Shelden  vs.  Parish  of 
Easton,  [Pickering's  Rep.,)  he  was  counsel  for  the  plaintiff,  and  suc- 
cessfully contended,  contrary  to  the  result  of  an  ecclesiastical  council, 
that  plaintiff,  a  parish  minister,  aiid  settled  for  life,  was  under  no  ob- 
ligation, legal  or  moral,  to  exchange  pulpits  with  any  of  the  neighbor- 
ing ministers,  and  did  not  forfeit  his  office  by  refusing  such  exchanges  ; 
in  the  church  of  Reading  vs.  Pickett,  that  a  minister  of  a  parish  has  no 


10  SKETCHES  OF  EMINENT  AMERICANS. 

official  veto,  positive  or  qualified,  upon  the  proceedings  of  the  church 
of  which  he  is  pastor  ;  in  the  case  of  Howard-street  Church,  in  Sa- 
lem, that  a  majority  of  the  members  of  a  church  cannot  disband  and 
abolish  the  church  against  the  consent  of  the  minority  who  dissent  and 
sustain  the  worship  and  ordinances.  These  last  are  ecclesiastical 
proceedings  and  printed  in  extenso. 

Mr.  Eddy  never  solicited,  aspired  to  or  coveted  any  kind  of  office, 
civil,  ecclesiastical  or  judicial,  but  was  always  content  and  desirous  to 
live  as  a  private  citizen  upon  the  fruits  of  his  private  industry.  Some 
tokens  of  public  confidence  he  has  received,  and  some  public  service 
he  has  rendered,  when  called  thereto,  but  never  encouraged  such  call. 
After  his  admission  to  the  bar  he  received  a  commission  of  the  peace 
and  of  the  quorum,  which  is  always  convenient  for  the  country  practi- 
tioner, and,  for  a  dozen  years  or  more,  was  a  master  in  chancery.  He 
was  elected  by  the  unanimous  vote  of  the  inhabitants  of  his  native 
town,  to  represent  them  in  the  state  legislature — 1829-30  ;  and  the 
first  year  served  on  the  committee  of  the  judiciary  with  Henry  H.  Ful- 
ler, Esq.,  of  Boston,  as  heretofore  noticed  in  this  journal ;  the  second 
year  he  was  on  the  committee  of  probate  and  chancery.  His  labors 
were  severe  and  effective,  (he  drew  almost  every  bill  which  the  com- 
mittee agreed  to  bring  in,)  and  were  duly  appreciated  by  the  members. 
His  speech  on  the  manufacturer's  bill  (which  Avas  much  debated)  was 
thought  highly  of  by  those  who  were  opposed  to  that  measure,  and  by 
others  of  the  majority.  He  has  since  promoted  several  healthy  law 
reforms  ;  many  vexatious  difficulties  in  the  practice,  of  a  technical  kind, 
have  been  removed  by  his  instrumentality,  and  the  late  commissioners 
on  that  subject  received  his  aid  and  advice.  But  his  ambition  was  to 
understand  his  cases,  and  to  be  able  to  present  them  to  the  court  and 
jury  in  a  proper  manner,  to  attain  to  their  confidence,  to  be  on  good 
terms  and  in  friendship  with  his  brethren  of  the  bar,  and  the  judges 
and  clerks  of  the  courts  ;  and  this  ambition  was  not  disappointed. 
These  friendships  still  brighten  his  declining  sun,  (though  "  many  have 
fallen  asleep,")  and  sad  must  be  the  retired  counselor  who  is  without 
them.  Among  them  he  desires  that  William  Baylies,  Esq.,  of  Bridgewa- 
ter,  and  his  late  brother  Francis,  of  Taunton,  John  B.  Thomas,  the  late 
clerk  in  Plymouth,  H.  H.  Fuller,  Esq.,  before  mentioned,  Mr.  Clifford, 
now  governor  of  the  state,  T.  G.  Coffin,  New  Bedford,  W.  R.  P. 
Washburn,  of  Boston,  and  Mr.  Webster,  may  be  specially  mentioned, 
not  less  esteeming  many  others  :  T.  P.  Beal,  of  Kingston,  lately  de- 
ceased, was  an  especial  friend.  Notwithstanding  his  labors  for  others, 
Mr.  Eddy  has,  on  the  whole,  lived  a  still  and  private  life.  His  ances- 
tral estate  is  in  a  retired  village,  with  neighbors  not  thicking  about  him 
as  in  populous  places,  so  that  he  has  pursued  his  studies  and  the  prepara- 
tion of  his  cases  with  less  than  the  usual  interruptions.  He  takes 
care  not  to  "  cross  the  shade  of  his  ancestors"  by  allowing  the  estate 
to  become  shabby  and  fall  into  disrepair,  but  the  farm  and  gardens  are 
cultivated,  and  the  fields  stocked  for  family  convenience  only.  Living 
in  easy  circumstances  and  with  "  open  doors,"  he  is  visited  by  his  old 
friends  and  clients,  and  new  friends,  clergy  and  laity,  not  a  few. 

Conversant  as  he  is  with  all  parts  of  the  Old  Colony,  "  men  and 
things,"  he  has  excited  considerable  interest  by  his  communications  to 


ZECHARIAH  EDDY,  OF  MASSACHUSETTS.  H 

the  periodicals  of  the  day,  describing  its  extent,  population,  resources, 
rivers,  bays,  fisheries,  manufactories  and  agriculture  ;  its  early  and  late 
institutions,  civil,  literary  and  religious  ;  the  character  of  the  people 
who  live  and  have  lived  in  that  favored  section  of  our  country,  going 
back  to  the  pilgrim  fathers  and  their  immediate  successors.  His  ad- 
vanced age,  and  his  acquaintance  with  the  aged  of  the  past  generation, 
his  extensive  reading  and  research,  have  enabled  him  to  get  a  correct 
estimation  of  the  historical  and  traditionary  character  of  the  "  founders 
of  our  empire,"  and  those  who  grew  up  under  their  immediate  influ- 
ence. Here  is  one  fact :  he  has  had  several  free  conversations  with 
cc7itenarians,  who  well  remembered  the  men  who  were  the  sons  of  the 
pilgrims  themselves.  Those  of  other  sections  of  our  country  who 
have  not  read  these  communications  may  not  be  aware  of  the  wealth 
and  resources,  the  comfortable  lives,  and  the  enlightened  minds,  the 
quiet  morals  and  tolerant  religion  of  this  favored  region.  No  pilgrim 
or  son  of  a  pilgrim,  no  governor  or  magistrate  of  the  Old  Colony, 
"  hanged  a  Quaker  or  whipped  a  Baptist."  That  work  was  done  by 
another  jurisdiction,  the  puritans  and  planters  of  Massachusetts.  It 
would  seem  that  Governor  Bradford  was  a  pattern  and  example  of 
"  ruling  men,"  of  which  we  have  had  no  superior,  Washington  alone 
always  excepted. 

One  thing  more  :  we  think  those  who  have  read  his  communica- 
tions to  the  Watchman  and  Reflector,  printed  in  Boston,  on  the  belief 
and  character  of  the  celebrated  Roger  Williams,  and  his  treatment 
by  the  planters  of  Massachusetts,  have  received  some  new  light  on 
that  portion  of  our  history.  This  is  the  first  investigation  of  that  mat- 
ter by  a  lawyer.  The  cross-examination  seems  to  have  elicited  the 
truth.  The  accounts  of  Williams  have  been  given  by  clergymen  to 
whom  his  principles  gave  offence,  and  in  the  letters  of  Williams  and 
his  two  volumes  of  controversy  with  Cotton  on  "  the  Bloody  Tenet," 
aJone  is  to  be  found  his  proper  vindication.  He  was  certainly  a  great 
and  disinterested  man,  and  "  in  far  advance  of  his  age."  That  he  was 
right,  all  now  agree  ;  and  however  the  planters  may  have  been  justi- 
fied in  requiring  him  to  quit  their  plantation,  because  he  did  not  agree 
with  them  in  their  principles  of  public  policy,  and  setting  him  a  time 
to  depart,  they  cannot  be  justified  in  their  anticipation  of  that  time, 
and  giving  a  warrant  to  Capt.  Underhill  to  take  him  forthwith  to  Eng- 
land and  deliver  him  over  to  the  "  tender  mercies"  of  Archbishop 
Laud  ;  thereby  compelling  him,  when  privately  informed  of  the  mea- 
sure by  Governor  Winthrop,  "  suddenly  to  flee,  almost  naked  from  his 
young  family,  through  winter  snows  (which,  he  says  in  his  old  age, 
'  I  feel  yet '),  to  lodge  fourteen  weeks  in  the  smoky  holes  (wigwams)  of 
the  Indians,"  before  he  could  get  a  lodgment  out  of  the  jurisdiction 
claimed  by  the  Massachusetts  magistrates.  The  discussion  is  in  the 
print  above  named,  in  ten  or  twelve  communications  of  considera- 
ble length,  in  which  the  cotemporary  and  other  accounts  of  Williams 
are  collated,  examined,  compared  and  cross-examined  with  the  skill  of 
a  court  counselor. 

Perhaps  few  persons  have  read  more,  or  more  attentively,  than  the 
subject  of  this  notice.  The  hundreds  of  volumes  of  law  books  in  his 
library  were  never  covered  with  dust ;  and  his  nmnerous  miscellane- 


12  SKETCHES  OF   EMINENT  AMERICANS. 

ous  books  of  general,  literary  and  political  history,  philosophy,  elo- 
quence, and  even  poetry,  were  never  neglected.  He  was  called  to 
address  several  public  bodies  at  difterent  times,  and  gave  evidence  that 
he  was  not  a  mere  lawyer  :  the  society  of  "  Federal  Adelphi,"  in 
Providence,  of  which  he  was  elected  a  member  ;  the  inhabitants  of 
Bridgewater,  on  the  Fourth  of  July  ;  the  inhabitants  of  the  county,  on  a 
similar  occasion  ;  the  Agricultural  Society,  of  which  he  was  a  mem- 
ber, and  several  other  literary  societies  in  Providence  and  other  places. 
Several  of  these  were  printed  by  request  of  the  hearers.  He  is  also 
an  honorary  member  of  the  Board  of  Commissioners  for  Foreign  Mis- 
sions, a  member  of  the  Bible  Society,  of  the  Doctrinal  Tract  Society 
and  of  the  Historical  and  Genealogical  Society.  It  should  also  be 
mentioned  that  as  many  as  twenty  young  men  read  law  in  his  office,  who 
came  from  different  sections  of  the  country,  (several  of  them  from  Bos- 
ton,) to  whose  instruction  a  considerable  portion  of  his  time  was  devoted, 
and  who  also  generally  lived  in  his  family.  The  most  of  them  are  set- 
tled in  different  parts  of  the  country,  pursuing  the  practice  of  their  pro- 
fession. It  should  also  have  been  mentioned,  in  situ,  that  when  in  the 
legislature  he  favored  the  action  of  that  body  in  promoting  the  con- 
struction of  the  first  rail-road,  and  other  internal  improvements  ;  and 
that  his  course  in  this  respect  was  not  well  approved  by  his  constitu- 
ents. 

Mr.  Eddy  seems  to  have  devoted  considerable  attention,  of  late,  to 
the  great  writers  on  theology  and  ecclesiastical  history  and  polity,  and 
his  thoughts  on  these  subjects  (many  of  them)  have  been  communica- 
ted to  the  religious  press.  His  views  appear  to  favor  a  reformed  Cal- 
vinism, and  a  qualified  independence  of  the  churches,  and  it  would 
seem  that  these  views  are  fast  gaining  ground  in  New-England  and 
elsewhere  in  our  country.  He  has  been  a  member  (and  we  believe  an 
approved  member)  of  the  church  in  his  native  town,  since  1807  ;  and, 
in  addition  to  his  affording  material  aid  in  building  a  new  church  there, 
has  afforded  material  aid  to  the  erection  of  a  new  church  for  a  society 
which  recently  colonized  from  the  first.  He  has  also  assisted  other 
societies  in  the  vicinity  in  preparing  their  houses  of  worship. 

Mr.  Eddy  was,  in  early  life,  and  until  1815,  an  earnest  and-  active 
politician  of  the  federal  school :  then  came  in  the  "  era  of  good  feel- 
ing," when  his  professional  calls  became  more  pressing,  and  sufficient- 
ly occupied  his  time,  thoughts  and  efforts.  He  says,  "  a  burnt  child 
dreads  the  fire,"  and  that  having  passed  through  one  heat,  he  has  taken 
care  not  to  get  excited  or  heated  on  the  political  questions  which  have 
since  agitated  the  country  ;  and  he  has  not  taken  any  active  part  in 
them  whatever.  In  conversation  he  fully  expresses  his  views  and 
opinions  of  public  measures,  and  of  men  in  public  life,  but  has  attached 
himself  to  no  political  party.  He  was  a  personal  friend  of  Mr.  Web- 
ster, has  been  associated  with  him  in  the  trial  of  several  important 
cases,  and  has  preserved  a  considerable  correspondence  which  passed 
between  them,  very  little  of  which  relates  to  public  affairs  or  questions, 
but  which  chiefly  relates  to  municipal  law,  and  cases  pending  for  trial 
in  which  he  was  senior  counsel. 

In  person,  Mr.  Eddy  is  upwards  of  six  feet  in  height,  and  the 
engraving  is  a  good  picture  of  his  person.     Six  brothers  are  of  this 


ZECHARIAH  EDDY,  OF  MASSACHUSETTS.  13 

height ;  all  of  them  heads  of  families  and  in  good  estimation.  He  has 
not  the  compact,  well-knit  frame  of  the  others,  but  such  muscles  and 
health  only  as  belong  to  students  and  men  of  his  laborious  profession  ; 
and  now,  "  in  the  sear  leaf,"  cannot  say  he  has  full  health,  but  still  is 
enabled  to  enjoy  life  as  well  as  is  usual  for  persons  of  his  years,  per- 
haps better.  Diligent  study  is  a  poor  preserver  of  health,  and  the  trial 
of  long,  tedious  cases  in  court  also  tries  the  physical  forces  of  the 
counsel,  relaxes  the  nervous  system  and  impairs  health.  The  private 
history  of  the  daily  lives  of  our  distinguished  counselors  Avould  be  a 
sad  account  of  health  among  that  class  of  laborers  ;  e-xcessive  prostra- 
tion, pains  in  the  head  and  chest,  sleepless  nights,  calling  for  all  the 
tender  offices  of  their  "  better  halves,  and  premature  death — these 
are  known  to  have  been  the  daily  wages,  or  sad  fate  of  many  of  our 
leaders. 

The  wife  of  Mr.  Eddy  was  Sarah,  the  daughter  of  Capt.  Polecarpus 
Edson,  of  Bridgewater,  of  pilgrim  descent  ex  parte  materna,  and  of  pu- 
ritan descent  ex  parte  paterna.  His  ancestor,  from  Salem,  was  one  of 
the  original  proprietors  of  Bridgewater,  and  for  a  long  time  a  leading 
man  in  that  time,  and  deacon  of  the  church  there.  The  most  distin- 
guished of  her  family  was  Col.  Josiah  Edson,  a  "  mandamus  coun- 
cilor "*  and  an  absentee.  Their  happy  marriage  life  continued 
forty-seven  years  and  upwards,  from  1803  to  1850,  when  she  died  of  a 
short  illness,  aged  sixty-nine  years.  To  her  discretion,  care  and  dili- 
gence, her  watchful  attentions,  and  her  conscientious  devotion  to  the 
family  and  domestic  afiairs  and  household  concerns,  he  is  indebted  for 
the  correct  and  liberal  breeding  and  education  of  the  children  with 
which  they  were  blessed  ;  and  to  her  economy  and  wise  providence  he 
is  indebted  for  preserving  the  fruits  of  his  professional  labors,  so  that 
his  home  was  always  "  in  order,"  to  receive  their  numerous  friends, 
and  to  make  the  inmates  happy  ;  and,  in  the  end,  to  preserve  for  him 
the  enjoyment  of  competence,  and  an  hospital  home  in  his  declining 
years,  no  part  of  which  has  come  of  avarice,  or  extravagant  fees  or 
charges. 

Although  much  favored  in  his  family  connections  and  relations,  Mr. 
Eddy  has  been  made  sadly  desolate.  As  has  been  said,  his  wife 
deceased  more  than  two  years  since  ;  of  ten  children  but  two  remain. 

"  Insatiate  archer  !  could  not  one  suffice  1 

Thy  dart  flew  thrice  and  thrice  my  peace  was  slain." 

The  two  surviving  daughters  are  heads  of  families  in  the  vicinity  of 
Boston  :  Anne  Juliet,  wife  of  Samuel  Barrett,  of  Newton,  teacher  of 
one  of  the  grammar  schools  in  Boston,  and  Charlotte  Elizabeth,  wife  of 
Francis  G.  Pratt,  of  Maiden,  and  pastor  of  a  church  there  ;  with  these 
and  nine  grandchildren,  he  passes  much  of  his  time. 

He  says  he  may  well  adopt  the  language  of  Mr.  Burke,  on  the  death 
of  his  only  son  :  (and  such  a  son,  and  more  than  one  had  Mr.  Eddy, 
"  having  within  him  a  salient,  living  spring  of  generous  and  manly  ac- 
tion :")  "  The  storm  has  gone  over  me  and  I  lie  like  one  of  those  old 

*  An  executive  councilor  appointed  by  the  king. 


14  SKETCHES  OF  EMINENT  AMERICANS. 

oaks  which  the  late  hurricane  has  scattered  about  me.  There,  and 
prostrate  there,  I  most  unfeignedly  recognize  the  Divine  justice,  and  in 
some  degree  submit  to  it.  The  Divine  wisdom  it  behooves  us  not  at 
all  to  dispute.  I  am  alone,  and  I  greatly  deceive  myself,  if,  in  this 
hard  season,  I  would  give  a  peck  of  refuse  wheat  for  all  that  is  called 
fame  and  honor  in  the  world." 


^avaiiyjcBuUre  ftomaTl^S^" 


ELIJAH  FLETCHER,  OF  VIRGINIA.  15 

ELIJAH  FLETCHER, 

OF  NELSON  COUNTY,  VIRGINIA. 

The  subject  of  tliis  notice  was  born  at  Ludlow,  Vermont,  28th  July, 
1789.  He  descended  from  Robert  Fletcher,  who  emigrated  from 
Yorkshire,  England,  with  three  sons,  and  settled  at  Concord,  Middle- 
sex county,  Massachusetts,  in  1630.  The  family  bore  heraldic  dis- 
tinction in  their  native  land,  and  the  armorial  bearings  are  yet  retained. 
The  farm  of  one  of  his  sons  is  still  occupied  by  his  descendants  of  the 
sixth  generation,  and  the  progeny,  now  numbering  thousands,  are  scut- 
tered  over  the  New-England,  as  well  as  various  other  states,  constitu- 
ting a  highly  respectable  class  of  citizens.  His  father,  Jesse  Fletcher, 
was  born  at  Westford,  Massachusetts,  in  1763.  When  fifteen,  he  vol- 
unteered and  served  in  the  Revolutionary  war,  and  at  the  age  of 
twenty,  removed  to  Vermont,  at  its  early  settlement,  purchased  a  tract 
of  land  in  a  picturesque  and  fertile  valley,  at  the  foot  of  the  Green 
Mountains,  felled  the  tirst  tree,  built  his  habitation,  and  passed  through 
all  the  hardships  of  a  pioneer  settler  of  this  cold  and  rigorous  climate. 
He  was  the  youngest  of  three  brothers  ;  the  second,  Josiah,  soon  fol- 
lowed, and  settled  near  him ;  the  elder,  the  Rev.  Elijah  Fletcher,  set- 
tled in  Hopkinton,  New-Hampshire,  whose  learned,  useful  and 
eminent  career  was  early  terminated  by  death,  leaving  a  small  but  in- 
teresting family,  one  of  whom,  Grace  Fletcher,  was  the  first  wife  of 
Daniel  Webster.  From  the  time  of  the  first  organization  of  his  town 
until  his  death,  Jesse  Fletcher  enjoyed  the  high  confidence  of  its  in- 
habitants, holding  the  highest  offices  of  honor  and  trust. 

It  may  be  supposed  that  the  subject  of  this  memoir  must,  in  his  youth- 
ful days,  have  shared  many  hardships  in  common  with  his  family.  But 
by  the  strong  mind  and  good  management  of  his  father,  a  fine  and 
beautiful  farm  was  soon  opened  ;  the  primitive  house  gave  way  to  a 
neat  and  handsome  dwelling,  and  a  family  of  fifteen  children  were 
reared  with  good  habits  and  education.  It  was  customary  in  those 
days,  in  respectable  families,  to  make  an  effort  to  give  one  of  the  sons 
a  collegiate  education.  Elijah,  being  rather  of  a  studious,  contempla- 
tive mind,  was  selected  to  enjoy  this  favor,  and  at  the  age  of  fourteen 
was  sent  to  Westford  Academy,  where  he  prepared  himself  for  col- 
lege, boarding  with  his  grandmother  in  the  family  mansion  of  his 
father.  He  then  entered  a  flourishing  college  at  Middlebury,  Ver- 
mont, where  he  spent  his  freshman  and  sophomore  years,  and  so  dis- 
tinguished himself  in  his  studies  as  to  receive  the  first  honors  of  his 
class.  His  junior  year  was  spent  at  Dartmouth  College,  New-Hamp- 
shire ;  but  feeling  anxious  to  receive  his  academic  honors  from  an  in- 
stitution of  his  native  state,  he  removed  to  the  University  of  Vermont, 
at  Burlington,  where  he  received  his  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Arts,  in 
August,  1810.  He  was  soon  invited  to  take  charge  of  a  literary  insti- 
tution in  Virginia,  and  he  removed  to  Amherst  county,  and  became  the 
president  of  the  N.  Glasgow  Academy.  This  institution  had  been  for 
some  time  in  quite  a  languishing  state,  but  by  his  energy  and  ability 


16  SKETCHES  OF  EMINENT  AMERICANS. 

he  soon  revived  its  drooping  prospects,  and  in  four  years  its  number 
of  students  was  greatly  increased.  During  that  time  he  married 
Miss  Marie  Antoinette  Crawford,  a  relative  of  the  late  Hon.  W.  H. 
Crawford,  of  Georgia,  a  lady  of  one  of  the  oldest  and  most  influential 
families  in  the  county.  He  then  removed  to  Lynchburg,  a  young  but 
thriving  commercial  toAvn,  on  James  River,  and  soon  became  the  pro- 
prietor of  The  Lynchburg  Virginian,  the  first  established  paper  of 
that  place.  This  paper  had  been  ably  edited  by  his  predecessors,  and 
had  much  popularity  and  influence,  but  in  its  financial  affairs  had  been 
badly  and  unprofitably  managed.  The  new  proprietor  associated  with 
himself,  in  the  editorial  department,  R.  H.  Toler,  Esq.,  a  young  man  of 
brilliant  talents,  courteous  and  winning  manners.  Mr.  F.  introduced 
into  the  establishment  order  and  economy,  and  soon  rendered  it  a 
source  of  handsome  profit.  Its  circulation  in  less  than  two  years  was 
more  than  doubled,  and  it  became  the  leading  and  most  widely-circu- 
lated paper  in  the  interior  of  the  state.  Although  decidedly  partisan, 
and  advocating  the  whig  cause  with  unflinching  energy,  it  was  still 
courteous,  and  rarely  gave  personal  oflence.  The  industry  used  in 
making  it  the  vehicle  of  the  earliest  intelligence,  made  it  useful  to  both 
parties.  In  the  most  excited  contest  in  the  presidential  election 
between  Jackson  and  Adams,  when  partisan  feeling  became  very 
intense  and  almost  savage,  entering  into  and  marring  many  times  pri- 
vate friendships,  Mr.  Fletcher  introduced  in  his  paper  a  new  feature, 
which  much  enhanced  its  interest,  and  neutralized  in  some  measure  its 
warm  partisan  cause.  He  devoted  a  portion  of  its  columns  to  agricul- 
ture ;  he  had  not  forgotten  the  early  practical  lessons  learned  on  his 
native  farm,  and  he  viewed  with  regret  the  depressed  state  of  the  agri- 
cultural interests  in  his  adopted  state.  Atthi-s  time  there  were  but  two 
agricultural  papers  published  in  the  United  States.  The  substantial 
farmers  of  both  parties  felt  a  lively  interest  in  this  information,  and 
eagerly  sought  the  paper,  although  in  a  political  point  of  view  not  alto- 
gether agreeable  to  them. 

Agriculture  in  Virginia  was  at  a  very  low  ebb.  By  an  injudicious 
mode  of  cultivating  the  lands,  they  had  become  exhausted,  and  the 
planters  were  convinced  there  must  be  a  change.  The  alternative 
stared  them  in  the  face,  of  improving  their  lands  or  selling  them  for  a 
trifle,  and  removing  to  a  new  country,  for  to  longer  stay  upon  them  was 
to  starve.  The  original  fertility  of  the  soil  was  great,  from  the  first 
settlement  of  the  country.  Tobacco  had  been  the  staple  and  favorite 
crop,  from  its  bulk  more  easily  carried  to  market  over  the  bad  roads, 
and  always  sure  to  command  a  remunerating  price  in  money.  This 
crop  was  the  first  grown  on  clearing  the  lands,  and  was  repeated  as  long 
as  it  could  be  produced ;  then  alternately,  year  after  year,  Avas  corn  plant- 
ed and  wheat  or  oats  sown.  The  land,  cultivated  with  a  small  one- 
horse  plow,  which  penetrated  the  soil  not  more  than  two  or  three 
inches,  without  any  rest  or  change  of  ameliorating  crop,  without 
the  use  of  manure  or  the  cultivation  of  artificial  grasses,  became 
quite  exhausted,  and  given  up  as  no  longer  useful  for  cultivation,  and 
more  new  lands  were  cleared  to  undergo  the  same  process  of  destruc- 
tion. Before  this  time  it  is  probable  not  twenty  bushels  of  grass  seed 
had  ever  been  sown  in  Amherst  countv.     Mr.  Fletcher  took  advan- 


ELIJAH  FLETCHER,  OF  VIRGINIA.  ]7 

tage  of  this  state  of  things,  and  besides  warmly  advocating  the  cause 
of  agriculture,  through  the  columns  of  his  widely-circulating  paper^ 
soon  began  to  teach  practically  how  easy  it  was  to  resuscitate  these 
worn-out  lands,  and  restore  them  to  their  natural  fertility.  He  intro- 
duced deep  plowing,  drained  the  wet  land,  leveled  the  gullies  and 
ravines  which  the  washing  rains  had  been  so  long  forming  and  deep- 
ening in  a  soil  which  was  destitute  of  sod  or  vegetable  matter  to  keep 
it  together,  and  to  sow  clover  and  plaster.  This  process  acted  like  a 
charm  upon  these  lands,  and  they  immediately  began  to  repay  the  labor 
and  outlay  by  giving  bo-untiful  and  remunerating  crops.  Mr.  F.  did 
not  stop  at  this,  but  as  soon  as  he  got  his  farm  in  a  situation  to  support 
stock,  he  began  to  import  the  best  improved  breeds  of  cattle,  sheep  and 
hogs,  paying  no  attention  to  the  fine  blooded  race-horse,  which  had 
been  the  only  animal  of  cost  and  care  in  the  country.  His-  early 
efforts  in  agricultural  pursuits  were  looked  upon  by  many  as  the 
visionary  theory  of  a  book  farmer,  but  the  practical  results  were  so 
striking  that  all  who  saw  were  convinced,  and  one  after  another  of  his 
neighbors  began  to  follow  his  example,  and  a  general  spirit  of  im- 
provement was  infused  which  has  produced  favorable  changes  in  this 
part  of  the  country.  Few  sections  of  the  United  States  have  more 
natural  advantages  than  the  Piedmont  counties  of  Virginia — a  deep, 
rich  soil;  the  most  picturesque,  grand  and  beautiful  mountain  scenery; 
the  best  water;  the  purest  air,  and  a  most  salubrious  climate.  These 
advantages  were  not  unobserved  by  Mr.  Fletcher,  and  induced  him  to 
invest  largely,  which  he  could  do  at  little  cost  in  a  country  which, 
although  much  exhausted  and  depressed  by  bad  management,  he  was 
persuaded  could  not  be  abandoned,  but  would  be  sought  for,  improved 
and  become  valuable.  Mr.  Fletcher  continued  to  own  and  manage  his 
paper  some  twenty  years,  until  the  year  1840,  when,  becoming  disgust- 
ed with  heartless  politics,  and  anxious  to  devote  more  time  to  his 
favorite  pursuits  of  rural  life,  he  disposed  of  the  Virginian  newspaper. 
Since  then  he  has  spent  much  time  on  his  plantations  in  Amherst 
county,  although  he  still  retains  his  old  dwelling  in  the  city  of 
Lynchburg,  where  his  family  spend  a  portion  of  their  time.  His 
favorite  plantation  is  Sweet-Briar,  twelve  miles  distant  from  the 
city.  This  plantation  contains  some  three  thousand  acres,  situated 
at  the  foot  of  a  spur  of  the  Blue  Ridge  Mountains.  Its  broad 
fields  are  in  a  good  state  of  cultivation,  well  covered  with  fine  flocks 
and  herds,  and  extensive  and  convenient  barns.  Numerous  neat 
and  comfortable  servants'  houses,  with  their  gardens  attached,  cover 
several  acres,  ranging  in  different  directions  in  streets,  so  as  not  to  be 
too  much  crowded.  And  there  has  recently  been  erected  one  of  the 
most  picturesque  and  imposing  villas  in  the  state,  the  graceful  style  of 
which  harmonizes  with  the  surrounding  mountain  scenery.  These 
altogether  present  an  aspect  of  a  neat  and  thriving  village.  All  th(!se 
buildings,  excepting  the  family  residence,  have  been  erected  by  his 
own  servants,  having  among  them  almost  every  description  of 
mechanic.  He  has  abandoned  the  custom  of  employing  white  men  to 
oversee  a-nd  manage  his  hands.  Under  his  kind  treatment,  and  with 
his  instructions,  his  servants  have  learned  all  the  operations  of  good 
farming.     He  has  convinced  them  it  is  better  to  do  their  duty  volun- 

VOL.  III.  3 


18  SKETCHES  OF  EMINENT  AMERICANS. 

tarily  than  by  compulsion ;  tried  to  instill  into  them  principles  of 
morality  ;  made  them  fond  of  their  homes  ;  encouraged  matrimony  and 
attention  to  their  families.  With  general  instructions  laid  down  by 
their  master,  the  older  lead  and  direct  the  younger,  and  every  thing 
is  carried  on  in  a  peaceful  and  quiet  way,  most  of  them  laboring  cheer- 
fully and  with  much  emulation  to  do  as  well  as  their  neighbormg 
farmers.  There  is  rarely  a  punishment  inflicted,  except  for  the  little 
delinquences  of  children,  and  then  it  is  made  the  duty  of  parents  to  cor- 
rect. None  are  ever  sold  except  the  incorrigible,  whom  no  advice 
can  deter  from  being  a  trouble  to  their  master  and  a  disgrace  to 
their  fellow  servants.  They  are  permitted,  when  there  is  no  conveni- 
ent preaching  on  the  Sabbath,  to  hold  religious  service  among  them- 
selves. There  are  among  them  some  who  take  a  lead  in  these  meet- 
ings, who  perform  the  marriage  ceremony,  and  the  funeral  service 
over  their  deceased  fellow  servants,  with  much  propriety  and  solemni- 
ty. If  one  of  the  numerous  sympathizing  readers  of  Uncle  Tonics 
Cabin  could  visit  this  plantation  during  the  week,  and  see  them  all 
carrying  on  their  varied  labors  with  cheerful  alacrity,  well  clad  and 
well  fed,  or  could  view  them  on  the  Sabbath,  neatly  attired  in  their 
Sunday  garments,  they  would  soon  see  that  their  sympathy  could  find 
thousands  of  objects  nearer  home  more  demanding  its  exercise.  He 
has  endeavored  to  elevate  them  in  their  own  estimation,  to  make 
them  self-reliant,  and  think  themselves  accountable  beings.  And 
although  he  has  seen  great  improvement,  he  finds  few  among  them, 
unaided  by  directions  and  care,  that  would,  if  free  to  do  for  themselves, 
make  a  comfortable  living  for  their  families.  He  has  experimented 
with  some  who  had  been  so  faithful  and  useful  to  him,  in  particular 
branches  of  business,  that  he  has  given  them  their  outfit  and  set  them 
up  for  themselves,  but  it  has  in  every  instance  proved  a  failure,  soon 
becoming  worthless  and  unhappy.  They  are  a  race  that  seem  always 
to  be  in  a  state  of  minority  and  in  want  of  a  guardian.  The  servants 
look  upon  Mr.  F.  as  their  friend  and  not  as  their  tyrant.  The  smallest 
child  lisps  the  name  of  their  master  with  the  endearing  attachment 
they  do  that  of  their  mother,  and  approach  him  in  confidence  to  make 
their  little  Avants  and  grievances  known.  He  dwells  among  them  in 
great  confidence  and  security,  never  locking  a  door  night  or  day  to 
prevent  their  approach.  He  confides  in  their  honesty,  and  trusts  each 
one  in  his  department  with  every  thing  under  his  care.  The  hostler 
keeps  the  keys  to  the  corn  house  ;  the  heads  in  the  dairy  or  in  the 
house  have  free  access  over  all  intrusted  to  them. 

Although  there  are  from  one  to  two  hundred  slaves  on  this  planta- 
tion alone,  every  thing  is  as  peaceful  and  quiet  as  the  most  retired 
hamlet.  Mr.  Fletcher  is  diffident  and  retiring,  shunning  all  notoriety 
and  declining  all  public  offices.  In  a  private  way  his  benevolence  is 
equal  to  any  one.  The  widow  and  the  poor  never  fail  to  find  assist- 
ance and  relief  in  him.  fle  is  ever  active  to  aid  in  the  building  of 
churches  and  schools,  giving  land  and  money  freely  for  these  pur- 
poses, and  being  foremost  in  helping  to  construct  roads,  or  aid  in  any 
other  improvement  in  his  neighborhood.  But  perhaps  his  usefulness 
in  setting  an  example  in  agricultural  improvements  is  the  most  valua- 
ble.    If  the  glory  of  making  two  blades  of  grass  grow  where  one  grew 


ELIJAH  FLETCHER,  OF  VIRGINIA.  19 

before,  is  greater  than  that  of  conquering  armies,  that  glory  belongs  to 
Mr.  F.  He  has  not  only  made  two  blades  of  grass  grow  where  one 
grew  before,  but  he  has  taught  others  to  do  it.  Mr.  Fletcher  is  proba- 
bly the  greatest  slave  and  land  holder  in  this  part  of  Virginia.  He 
has  a  numerous  tenantrj'',  who  are  so  pleased  with  their  landlord 
that  they  rarely  leave  their  farms.  Their  rents  are  such  as  to  enable 
them  to  support  their  families  and  pay  with  ease,  and  if  any  accident 
of  a  loss  of  crop  or  sickness  prevent  them  paying,  indulgence  is  always 
extended,  and  rarely  ever  has  there  been  a  distress  for  rent,  unless 
there  was  an  evident  intention  to  defraud.  Mr.  Fletcher  has  four 
children,  two  sons  and  two  daughters,  all  of  whom  have  received 
accomplished  educations.  His  daughters  and  eldest  son,  Dr.  Sidney 
Fletcher,  after  completing  a  course  of  studies  in  Paris,  made  an  exten- 
sive tour  through  Continental  Europe  and  the  Orient.  Those  best 
acquainted  with  Mr.  Fletcher  are  surprised  how  he  manages  his  exten- 
sive landed  interests,  his  numerous  slaves,  his  large  moneyed  con- 
cerns, so  quietly  and  with  so  much  ease.  In  his  temperament,  he  is 
calm  and  deliberate,  and  rarely  excited.  His  varied  interests,  like 
the  rivulet,  gently  flow  into  a  large  stream,  moving  noiselessly. 
Some  who  have  observed  Mr.  Fletcher's  success  in  life,  attribute  it  to 
good  luck,  but  one  who  knoM^s  well  his  career  would  say  to  young 
men  of  self-denying,  prudent  habits,  that  with  good  and  honest  inten- 
tions, with  good  judgment  and  never-failing  perseverance,  they  can 
go  and  do  likewise.  Mr.  F.  has  visited  his  native  home  but  four 
times  since  he  left  for  Virginia.  The  last  visit  was  made  in  the  sum- 
mer of  1852.  What  a  change  had  been  made  in  forty-two  years  ! 
The  quiet  valley  of  the  Black  River,  with  its  thin  habitations,  had 
become  almost  a  continued  village,  with  its  numerous  churches,  acade- 
mies and  beautiful  residences,  with  large  and  extensive  factories, 
driven  by  the  waters  flowing  from  the  immediate  mountains.  And 
through  the  former  pasture  lands  on  the  banks  of  the  river,  and  in  fine 
view  of  the  old  mansion,  pass  six  times  a  day  the  heavy-laden  cars 
on  the  rail-road  lately  built  between  Boston  and  Burling-ton.  This 
was  a  re-union  of  the  surviving  members  of  the  family,  the  father  and 
mother  of  whom  had  for  many  years  slept  the  sleep  of  death.  But  the 
old  farm,  the  old  mansion,  shaded  by  the  graceful  elm,  the  beautiful 
fields,  the  verdant  meadows,  the  mountain  stream  reflecting  the  dark 
foliage  of  the  fir  tree,  and  which  they  had  frequented  in  their  boyhood 
to  catch  trout,  were  there  as  in  bygone  days  ;  and  the  kind 
domestic  who  nursed  their  parents  in  their  declining  years,  was  there 
to  welcome  them.  The  farm  is  still  retained  in  the  family,  and 
although  all  the  members  are  far  removed,  it  is  cherished  with  care, 
and  kept  in  good  state  of  improvement,  and  ever  open  to  the  hospitable 
reception  of  any  one  of  them  who  wishes  to  make  a  pilgrimage  there. 
This  meeting  of  a  family  which  had  been  separated  for  more  than  forty 
years,  was  thus  noticed  by  one  of  the  leading  journals  of  the  state  : 

"  We  are  much  obliged  to  one  of  the  party  concerned,  for  the  follow- 
ins[  interesting  article.  The  cases  are  doubtless  rare  where  an  entire 
Vermont  family  has  been  scattered  over  the  Union,  and  yet  has  re- 
tained the  old  homestead  as  a  common  centre  of  attraction.  The 
cases  are  not  rare,  however,  where  the  sons  and  daughters  of  Ver- 


30  SKETCHES  OF  EMINENT  AMERICANS. 

monters  are  scattered  far  and  wide,  but  ever  retaining  the  liveliest 
affection  for  their  old  mountain  home,  the  village  church  and  school, 
and  the  '  graves  of  their  fathers.'  Many  from  the  south  and  west 
have  been  in  the  habit  of  weeding  their  way  to  old  Vermont  in  June, 
July  and  August,  to  return  in  September  and  October ;  and  now  that 
the  facilities  for  traveling  have  been  so  greatly  improved,  the  number 
is  greatly  increased.  For  a  fortnight  or  more  the  tide  of  emigration 
has  been  from  the  south  and  west  to  the  north  and  east.  We  heartily 
unite  in  the  suggestion  that  all  the  absent  sons  and  daughters  of  Ver- 
mont should  imitate  the  example  here  recorded.  Aside  from  the 
happy  family  meetings  which  may  thus  be  arranged,  we  venture  to  add, 
as  the  result  of  our  own  somewhat  limited  observation,  that  no  section 
of  thT  north  is  so  attractive,  or  so  salubrious,  as  Vermont  in  the  sum- 
mer months  : 

" '  The  Graves  of  our  Fathers. — The  family,  and  some  of  the 
descendants  of  Jesse  Fletcher,  Esq.,  one  of  the  first  settlers  of  Lud- 
low, Vt.,  after  a  separation  of  nearly  forty  years,  recently  met  together 
at  the  paternal  mansion,  near  Proctorsville  ;  seven  from  Eastern  and 
Western  New-York,  four  from  Virginia  and  three  from  Indiana.  Their 
parents  have  been  dead  many  years.  No  one  of  the  children,  out  of 
a  family  of  fifteen,  lives  in  the  state  ;  yet  the  farm  their  father  settled 
on,  in  1782,  is  still  owned  by  them. 

"  '  This  meeting,  after  so  long  a  separation,  was  happy  and  interesting, 
calculated  not  only  to  strengthen  the  bonds  of  fraternal  kindness,  but 
to  honor  their  deceased  parents.  They  marched  together  to  the  old 
meeting-house  and  grave-yard, 

"  In  the  way  their  fathers  trod.'' 

They  separated,  resolved  to  meet  semi-annually  hereafter,  at  the  old 
mansion. 

" '  They  all  came  together  in  less  than  three  days'  travel  by  the 
steam-cars  and  boat ;  whereas,  twenty-eight  years  ago,  the  one  the 
furthest  o&  \y^?>  forty-six  days  making  the  same  journey. 

"  '  We  hope  the  absent  sons  and  daughters  of  Vermont,  scattered  over 
the  world,  will  imitate  the  foregoing  example,  and  return  often  to  the 
salubrious  air  and  mountain  scenery  of  their  native  land,  in  honor  of  the 
memory  of  their  pioneer  fathers,  who  gave  them  constitutions  and 
habits  to  compete  for  the  honors  of  our  wide-spread  Union.' " 


DONALD    M'KAY,    OF    SOUTH    CAROLINA.  21 

DONALD    L.  McKAY, 

PRESIDENT    OF    THE    BANK    OF    GEORGETOWN,    S,    C, 

Was    born   25th    September,    1808,  near  Cheraw,  Chesterfield  dis- 
trict. South  Carolina.     His  paternal  grandfather,  William  McKay,  was 
one  of  the  early  settlers  of  that  district.    His  father,  Hugh  McKay,  was 
an  only  son,  who  married  Sarah  Nicolson,  daughter  of  Angus  Nicolson, 
an  emigrant  from  the    Highlands  of  Scotland,   before    the  American 
Revolution.     Colonel  McKay,  therefore,  with  much  pride,  traces  back 
to  a  Highland  ancestry,  distinguished  for  their  manly  traits  of  charac- 
ter, so  glowingly  described  by  Sir  Walter  Scott,  whose  graphic  pen 
has  given  an  heroic  coloring  to  everything  connected  with  that  hardy 
race.       His  father  died  in  1816,  leaving  four  sons  and  four  daughters, 
and  an  estate  hardly  sufficient  to  pay  its  debts.     Donald,  the  subject 
of  this  sketch,  but  eight  years  of  age,  was  one  of  the  eldest  children  at 
the  death  of  his  father,  and  is  the  eldest  who  survived  minority.     His 
mother,  a  woman  of  unusual  energy  of  character,  and  greatly  beloved 
for  her  consistent  piety  and  many  Christian  graces,  early  imbued  her 
children  with  principles  of  integrity  and  self-reliance — sterling  qualities, 
which  elevate  the  character  and  command  respect.      Perhaps  it  is  to 
this  maternal  endowment  her  children  are  indebted  for  the  high  social 
position  they  enjoy  in  the  aristocratic  society  of  Chesterfield  district — 
for  it  is  one  of  the  redeeming  qualities  of  an   agricultural  aristocracy 
that  it  generally  discriminates  in  favor  of  merit  rather  than  wealth — 
unless,  indeed,  the  candidate  for  social  distinction  be  the  scion  of  some 
superannuated  but  old  family,  in  which  case  no  mental  or  moral  quality 
is  ever  considered  the  prestige  of  name,  atoning  for  all  deficiencies,  and 
overshadowing  all  adverse  claims.     At  the  age   of  thirteen,  Donald, 
having  received  but  a  limited  education,  was  placed  in  a  store,  in  Che- 
raw,  as  a  clerk,  where  his  industrious  habits,  great  aptitude,  and  energy 
in  the  discharge  of  his  duties,  enabled  him,  at  the  age  of  nineteen,  to 
commence  business,  under  favorable  auspices,  for  himself,  in  one  of 
the  first  mercantile  establishments  in  that  part  of  the  state,  having,  in 
the  mean  time,  contributed  mainly  towards  the  support  and  education  of 
his  brothers  and  sisters  from  the  very  small  income  of  a  clerk  ;  and  for 
ten  years  after,  (the  period  of  his  mercantile  operations  at  Cheraw,) 
continued  to  devote  nearly  the  whole  of  his  profits  to  the  same  lauda- 
ble purpose — a  simple  commentary  on  his  ability  and  character  far 
more  honorable  to  him  than  pages  devoted  to  his  financial  and  mercan- 
tile cleverness,  or  long  details  of  distinguished  political  triumphs.     It 
is  examples  like  this  to  which  the  young  merchant  can  look  with  hope 
of  success,  rather  than  to  those  erratic  specimens  of  biography  Avhich 
grace  our  literature  to  challenge  our  wonder  rather  than  our  imitation. 
During  his  clerkship  he  applied  himself  with  great  assidiuty  to  repair 
the  defects  of  his  education,  and  in  acquiring  a  thorough  knowledge  of 
the  principles  of  trade.     Having  a  taste  for  political  economy  and  kin- 
dred studies,  he  soon  became  a  proficient  in  all  the  financial  and  com- 
mercial questions  of  the  day,  and  with  great  zeal  defended  the  doctrines 


22  SKETCHES  OF  EMINENT  AMERICANS. 

of  free  trade  in  conjunction  with  the  state-rights  party  of  South 
Carolina  ;  opposed  the  re-charter  of  the  United  States'  Bank,  and  ad- 
vocated the  adoption  of  the  independent  treasury  system, — which  ques- 
tions have  since  been  settled  by  their  adoption  as  the  permanent  policy 
of  the  federal  government.  It  is  greatly  to  be  regretted  that  the  mer- 
chants of  this  great  emporium  betray  so  lamentable  an  ignorance  of 
these  studies,  and  so  culpably  neglect  the  discharge  of  their  duties  as 
citizens,  as  to  materially  render  their  great  enterprise  and  energy  and 
their  unrivaled  knowledge  of  subjects  connected  with  their  business, 
useless  to  the  public,  except  so  far  as  to  bring  wealth  into  the  city, 
without  the  power  to  enjoy  it.  Although  politics,  as  a  pursuit,  is  to 
be  deprecated,  and  a  merchant  can  hardly  devote  his  whole  time  to 
letters,  yet  the  state  loses  much  by  the  entire  neglect  of  so  intelligent 
a  class  of  citizens  in  the  practical  direction  of  government,  and  many 
a  retired  merchant  would  pass  the  evening  of  life  with  greater  satis- 
faction by  the  imitation  of  a  Roscoe,  rather  than  by  aping  the  vulgar 
extravagance  which  too  many  of  our  up-town  nabobs  must  substitute 
for  refinement ;  and  perhaps  none  are  so  wretched  as  those  whose  occu- 
pations have  left  them  with  no  resource  but  Avealth. 

Few  schools  for  the  merchant  present  the  advantages  of  a  southern 
country  store.  The  large  amount  and  great  variety  of  stock  kept  on 
sale  ;  the  extensive  purchases  and  shipments  of  produce,  especially  of 
cotton,  and  the  long  and  large  credits  extended  to  the  planters,  involve 
great  financial  ability,  a  thorough  knowledge  of  the  markets  of  the 
world,  and  a  particular  acquaintance  with  all  kinds  of  commodities. 
In  addition  to  this,  there  must  be  a  high  degree  of  judgment  exerted  to 
reconcile  discriminating  credits  with  popularity  ;  prompt  payments  for 
purchases,  with  tardy  collections  for  sales  ;  large  operations  in  cotton 
in  the  face  of  great  competition  at  home,  and  subject  to  great  and  ruin- 
ous fluctuations  abroad.  Of  course,  it  is  rare  that  such  multifarious 
qualifications  and  acquirements  can  be  combined,  and  hence  so  few 
retire  rich  or  escape  misfortune.  It  is  to  the  vicissitudes  of  such  pur- 
suits we  are  indebted  for  many  of  our  most  accomplished  men  in  other 
departments  of  business.  A  lucky  speculation  furnishes  one  with  the 
means  to  enter  more  congenial  pursuits,  while  the  unfortunate  turn  of 
the  market  compels  another  to  seek  some  new  employment.  Such  was 
the  case  with  Colonel  McKay  :  large  operations  in  cotton  subjected 
the  profit  made  on  his  goods  to  great  fluctuations,  and  determined  him 
to  abandon  a  pursuit  of  so  precarious  a  character.  It  would  astonish 
many  an  exchange  operator  to  see  the  large  sums  of  money  involved 
in  the  cotton  shipments  of  a  single  country  store  at  the  south,  during  a 
season  ;  and  prudent  bankers  would  often  have  their  confidence  greatly 
shaken  did  they  know  how  largely  many  of  their  debtor  commission 
houses  are  acceptors  of  bills  drawn  by  parties  whose  hopes  constitute 
their  largest  capital,  and  in  the  success  of  whose  consignment  hangs 
the  whole  profit  of  a  season,  and  often  the  whole  capital  of  the  shipper. 
Yet  such  is  the  energy  and  integrity  of  this  class  of  merchants,  and 
such  the  recuperative  nature  of  their  pursuits,  that  the  instance  is  rare 
where  a  few  years  does  not  restore  the  heaviest  losses,  and  disenthrall 
the  most  hopeless  bankruptcy,  leaving,  often,  an  adequate  capital  to 
repay  the  energy  of  the  operator,  which  the  next  season  may  again 
dissipate. 


DONALD  M'KAY,  OF  SOUTH  CAROLINA.  23 

In  1836,  Colonel  McKay  married  the  accomplished  and  only  daugh- 
ter of  John  Coachman,  Esq.,  a  most  estimable  rice-planter,  of  George- 
town, South  Carolina,  to  which  place  he  removed  in  1838,  having  been 
elected  cashier  of  the  bank  of  that  city ;  since  which  time  he  has 
entirely  managed  that  institution,  having  been  chosen  president  soon 
after.  And  it  is  to  his  good  management,  and  the  exercise  of  proper 
principles  of  finance,  that  the  state  has  the  credit  of  having  a  bank 
which  passed  through  the  serious  times  of  general  suspension  without 
stopping  pavnnent,  or  refusing  to  redeem  their  notes  in  constitutional  cur- 
rency. After  the  suspension  of  the  United  States  Bank  a  general 
panic  took  possession  of  all  the  banks  at  the  South  and  West,  as  well 
as  at  the  North  ;  the  directors  of  the  Bank  of  Georgetown  were  about 
to  follow  the  same  example,  but  Colonel  McKay  protested  against  such 
action,  and  succeeded  in  carrying  the  point,  for  the  credit  of  the  bank, 
although,  at  the  time,  such  a  course  seemed  one  of  great  temerity — for 
a  single  bank  to  stand  alone  in  the  redemption  of  its  notes  in  specie, 
while  every  bank  South  and  West  had  suspended.  The  result  demon- 
strated, by  Colonel  McKay's  administration,  that  legitimate  maxims  of 
business  are  as  applicable  to  the  success  of  banking,  as  they  are  to 
individuals.  The  stock  of  this  institution  was  sixteen  per  cent,  below 
par  before  his  administration,  and  it  is  now  twenty  per  cent,  above  par, 
having  always  enjoyed  a  large  circulation  through  the  South  and  West 
for  its  bills,  and  paying  regularly  to  its  stockholders  large  dividends. 

Colonel  McKay  is  a  democrat  of  the  JefFersonian  school ;  an  enthu- 
siastic defender  of  state  rights,  yet  a  determined  supporter  of  the  con- 
stitution and  the  Union  against  the  extremes  of  all  parties.  He  warmly 
supported  Mr.  Van  Buren's  administration.  Although  disliking  him 
personally,  he  supported  him  as  the  representative  of  democratic  prin- 
ciples, and  because  his  administration  of  the  government  had,  in  all 
respects,  fully  redeemed  his  pledges  to  the  South. 

The  subsequent  disgraceful  conduct  of  that  leader  of  the  democracy, 
and  his  defection  towards  his  former  principles  and  friends,  have  been 
a  source  of  mortification  to  many  persons  besides  Colonel  McKay,  at 
the  North  and  at  the  South.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that  his  political  career 
will  find  no  parallel  in  any  future  chief  magistrate  of  this  Union,  but 
that  his  blighted  reputation  may  but  serve  as  the  beacon  to  warn  the 
faltering  politician  of  the  danger  of  an  abandonment  of  principles,  and 
the  deep  disgrace  which  overtakes  the  renegade  Avhen  failure  leaves 
him  without  friends  among  those  to  whom  he  deserted.  Such  is  the 
righteous  retribution  in  these  cases  that  Arnold  is  said  to  have  died 
broken-hearted  amidst  the  enemies  of  his  country,  whose  promises  had 
seduced  his  allegiance  and  his  honor  ;  but  the  moral  sense  of  English- 
men could  not  tolerate  the  traitor,  whose  crime  only  augmented  their 
defeat. 

In  1848,  a  clique,  at  Columbia,  the  capital  of  the  state,  calling  them- 
selves the  "  Central  Cofn7nittee"  or  some  such  name,  decided  that  the 
democracy  of  the  state  should  not  be  represented  at  the  Baltimore 
Convention,  and  their  behest  was  generally  deferred  to.  Colonel 
McKay,  regarding  this  as  a  serious  infringement  of  the  rights  of  the 
democracy,  by  an  irresponsible  body,  immediately  prepared  a  series, 
of  articles  for  the  columns  of  the  papers  in  Cheraw  and  Georgetown, 


24  SKETCHES   OF  EMINENT  AMERICANS. 

dissenting  from  this  anti-democratic  doctrine,  and  urging  the  party  to 
organize  at  once,  and  send  delegates  to  the  Convention  to  represent 
the  party,  which,  in  the  state,  was  nearly  unanimous.  He  contended 
that  it  was  the  duty  of  every  good  southern  democrat  to  give  the 
whole  weight  of  his  influence  in  sustaining,  at  the  convention,  those 
principles  which  were  regarded  as  vital  to  southern  interests,  and  in 
selecting  candidates  whose  ability  and  integrity  could  be  relied  on  in 
administering  the  government  and  sustaining  the  constitution ;  and 
especially  was  it  incumbent  on  southern  men,  at  that  time,  to  aid  those 
who  were  fighting  the  battles  for  southern  rights,  so  seriously  contested 
by  northern  abolitionists.  He  called  on  the  party  to  repudiate  the 
counsels  of  the  few  politicians  who  had  so  long  ruled  the  state  with  so 
little  wisdom,  as  to  render  her  large  democratic  majority  almost  useless 
to  the  national  party  holding  the  same  principles,  because  of  the  cap- 
tiousness  of  those  leaders,  and  the  determined  sectional  character 
which  they  were  disposed  to  bring  into  every  contest.  He  admitted 
that  their  power  of  organization  was  very  great,  and  that  they  had,  on 
a  previous  occasion,  deterred  the  state  from  being  represented  at  Bal- 
timore ;  but  still,  ever  mindful  of  her  dignity,  they  had  taken  care  to 
send  two  of  their  own  body,  who  pledged  the  suflrages  of  the  people 
to  the  nomination  of  Mr.  Polk,  made  at  that  convention  ;  that  although 
all  this  might  seem  judicious,  it  was  certainly  not  democratic  ;  and  he 
likened  their  organization  to  the  far-famed  Albany  regency,  having  all 
their  arrogance  and  corruption,  but  destitute  of  their  consistency  or 
political  sagacity. 

Colonel  McKay  succeeded  in  getting  his  congressional  district  to 
appoint  a  delegate  to  represent  it  at  Baltimore,  and  General  Comman- 
der was  permitted  to  cast  the  whole  electoral  vote  of  the  state  for  the 
nomination  of  General  Cass,  there  being  no  other  delegate  appointed 
from  the  state.  This  brought  down  the  most  violent  denunciations  from 
this  clique,  and  their  friends,  on  Colonel  McKay  and  all  connected 
with  this  movement,  and  the  appointment  of  General  Commander  was 
repudiated  as  contrary  to  the  will  of  the  state  ;  yet  General  Comman- 
der's pledge  to  the  convention  was  fully  and  faithfully  redeemed  by  the 
nearly  imanimous  vote  of  the  state.  A  few  of  these  pseudo-democrats 
demonstrated  their  principles  by  voting  for  General  Taylor,  the  Whig 
candidate,  because  of  his  southern  birth  and  non-committal  sentiments, 
who  rewarded  their  confidence  by  the  appointment  of  the  first  abolition 
cabinet  we  have  ever  had  ;  under  whose  control  and  direction  he  yielded 
every  southern  right,  while  his  death,  and  the  fortunate  accession  to 
power  of  a  northern  man,  Mr.  Filmore,  furnished  the  first  barrier  to 
abolition  encroachments  on  southern  institutions,  and  it  is  to  legisla- 
tion under  his  administration  we  are  indebted  for  the  safety  and  pre- 
servation of  the  Union.  The  future  historian  of  our  country  will  find 
the  period  of  his  administration  fraught  with  incidents  of  rare  value  for 
speculation  in  the  constitutional  history  of  our  government,  and  that 
modest  and  most  deserving  magistrate  will  yet  have  accorded  him  that 
degree  of  fame  which  his  patriotism  deserves. 

During  the  fall  and  winter  of  1851,  the  doctrine  ,of  secession  was 
sweeping  the  state  of  South  Carolina.  Indeed,  few  had  the  courage  to 
oppose  it.     No  matter  how  ultra  or  revolutionary  the  doctrine,  nor  how 


DONALD  M'KAY,  OF  SOUTH  CAROLINA.  25 

inadequate  the  means  of  success.  The  doctrine  was  to  be  regarded 
as  not  only  reasonable,  but  constitutional,  and  to  doubt  the  ability  of 
the  state  of  South  Carolina  to  paralyze  the  forces  of  the  whole  Union, 
both  moral  and  physical,  was  to  incur  the  furious  resentment  of  nu- 
merous heroes,  whose  dependence  on  a  recent  purchase  of  arms  by 
the  state  was  as  firm  as  was  the  reliance  of  Kossuth  in  the  potency  of 
a  like  purchase  of  old  muskets,  with  which  he  proposed  to  destroy  the 
armies  of  Europe. 

The  organization  of  the  secession  party  was  most  perfect,  and 
being  countenanced  by  many  estimable  men,  whose  just  indignation 
against  the  unwarrantable  attacks  of  the  fanatical  party  at  the  north 
on  their  constitutional  rights,  was  well  calculated  to  drive  them  towards 
a  dangerous  and  ultra  remedy.  The  press  of  the  state  had  agreed 
to  publish  nothing  controverting  the  revolutionary  doctrines  of  the 
times,  and,  with  singular  unanimity,  nothing  was  permitted  to  appear 
in  any  paper  throughout  the  state  calculated  to  even  mitigate  these 
views.  One  heart  seemed  to  animate  the  whole  state.  A  meeting 
was  called  at  Georgetown,  less  to  discuss  the  subject  than  to  keep 
alive  the  fires  of  secession  by  frequent  fannings  from  revolutionary  ora- 
tors, and  it  was  not  expected  that  there  should  be  any  expression  of 
dissent.  Colonel  McKay  and  Mr.  Waterman,  a  most  worthy  and 
venerable  citizen  of  the  town,  were  the  only  two  voices  raised  in 
defence  of  the  Union.  They  had  both  passed  through  the  nullification 
difticulties  of  1831,  and  were  not  discouraged  by  the  minority  in  which 
they  stood  in  the  present  crisis.  Relying  on  the  latent  good  sense  of 
the  people,  they  well  knew  that  they  had  but  to  contend  against  the 
misguided  dictates  of  a  reckless  faction,  playing  on  the  too  enthusiastic 
state  pride  of  the  people,  till  civil  war  stared  them  in  the  face,  when 
the  conservative  feeling  would  be  aroused  and  safer  counsels  prevail ; 
for  the  Palmetto  State,  with  all  her  foibles,  has  always  patriotically 
been  among  the  first  to  sustain  the  Union,  and  her  sons  have  been 
foremost  in  the  field  of  battle  to  defend  the  common  inheritance  against 
foreign  aggression. 

The  old  patriot,  Joel  R.  Poinsett,  who  so  long  had  honored  the 
state  by  his  distinguished  services  at  home  and  abroad,  being  unable, 
from  ill-health,  to  attend  this  meeting  of  his  townsmen,  addressed  them 
a  letter,  counseling  moderation,  and  warning  them  of  the  dangerous 
tendency  of  their  disunion  movement ;  at  the  same  time  advising  a 
co-operation  with  other  southern  states  as  the  more  practicable  mode 
of  obtaining  redress.  The  meeting,  in  the  madness  of  their  zeal  for 
secession,  refused  to  listen  to  the  reading  of  this  letter,  so  full  of  wis- 
dom, and  coming  from  a  source  so  distinguished  for  patriotism.  Colo- 
nel McKay,  anxious  that  the  meeting  should  have  the  advantage  of 
this  valuable  advice,  determined  to  adopt  the  letter  as  a  part  of  his 
own  unanswerable  speech,  which  he  made  with  great  eloquence,  and 
although  enforcing  many  most  unpalatable  arguments,  was  heard  with 
marked  attention  by  the  whole  meeting — a  courtesy  to  his  standing  in 
the  community  and  the  freedom  of  speech  which  would  hardly  be  emu- 
lated at  Tammany  Hall ;  if,  indeed,  a  minority  speaker  could  get  off 
the  rostrum  of  that  democratic  temple  with  as  much  brains  as  he  car- 
ried there.     Resolutions  of  secession,  in  their  most  rabid  form,  were 


26  SKETCHES  OF  EMINENT  AMERICANS. 

passed,  however,  immediately  after,  witli  but  Colonel  McKay's  dissent- 
ing voice.  Yet,  such  is  the  power  of  truth,  fearlessly  and  energetically 
spread,  he  had  the  satisfaction  of  seeing  a  complete  revolution  of  sen- 
timent, by  a  majority  of  1,700  votes  against  secession  soon  after,  in  the 
elections  in  his  district,  and  of  10,000  majority  on  the  same  question 
in  the  state.  During  the  discussion  of  this  most  important  measure, 
Colonel  McKay  stood  almost  alone  ;  in  his  section  of  the  state  his 
efforts  were  untiring  in  changing  the  public  sentiment,  both  by  public 
addresses  and  private  influence.  Doubtlessly  there  were  many  whose 
sentiments  fully  accorded  with  his,  but  who  hesitated  to  incur  the  odi- 
um of  differing  so  essentially  from  the  community  in  which  they  lived, 
especially  on  a  question  enlisting  so  largely  the  feelings  of  state  pride, 
which  sentiment  is  in  great  excess  in  South  Carolina.  Indeed,  the 
revolution  brought  about  by  the  few  right-minded  men  who  patrioti- 
cally stemmed  the  torrent,  and,  at  last,  effectually  turned  back  the  cur- 
rent of  public  feeling,  can  hardly  be  appreciated  at  the  north,  if  their 
politicians  are  judged  by  the  influence  of  the  same  incentives  which 
enter  into  our  political  questions  in  New- York.  Here  much  of  the 
political  complexion  of  parties  is  borrowed  either  from  the  spoils  or 
emoluments  of  office,  or  from  the  more  fruitful  gifts  of  partial  legisla- 
tion— Whence  the  party  in  power  assumes  all  the  principles  necessary 
to  keep  them  there  ;  while  the  party  seeking  place  denounces  all  such 
policy,  and  promises  to  extend  a  helping  hand  to  every  enterprise 
demanding  the  use  of  the  public  jtreasury  by  their  needy  friends.  There- 
fore the  first  business  of  a  new  legislative  body  is  to  pass  bills  giving 
special  advantages  to  their  friends,  and,  as  much  as  practicable,  restric- 
tive of  the  advantages  enjoyed  by  their  defeated  opponents.  This 
practice  is  unknown  in  South  Carolina,  and  it  is  to  her  credit  that 
those  gross  derelictions  from  common  integrity  are  not  chargeable 
against  her  public  men,  which  have  been  so  disgracefully  exempli- 
fied in  our  city  corporation,  and  from  which  our  state  legislation 
is  by  no  means  exempt.  The  peculiar  evils  chargeable  to  the 
politicians  of  South  Carolina  are  of  a  different  nature,  and  prevail 
to  an  alarming  extent :  they  consist  in  a  keen  sense  of  their  own  impor- 
tance, and  an  undue  reliance  on  the  prestige  of  their  former  rep- 
utation and  influence,  earned  by  the  patriotic  labors  and  distinguished 
ability  of  their  former  statesmen  in  the  national  councils.  They  for- 
get that  our  Union  is  greatly  augmented,  and  that  no  state  can  expect 
to  wield  the  same  relative  power  under  a  confederacy  of  thirty  states, 
tliat  one  of  thirteen  might  submit  to.  And  they  overlook  the 
fact  that,  while  each  new  state  is  disposed  to  lay  claim  to  a  part  of  the 
ability  and  influence  represented  in  the  national  councils,  and  the 
older  states  disposed  to  retain  their  full  share  of  importance  in  the 
confederacy.  South  Carolina  has  not  been  fortunate  enough  to  multiply 
in  this  increased  ratio  such  representative  talent  as  a  McDuffie,  a 
Hayne,  and  a  Calhoun  ;  and,  therefore,  they  arrogate  too  much  by 
claiming  to  construe  the  constitution,  and  direct  the  whole  policy  of 
the  confederacy. 

The  policy  of  the  state  is  directed  by  a  select  few,  who  are  most 
unscrupulous  in  their  opposition,  and  although  removals  under  federal 
appointments  have  always  been  discountenanced,  the  most  decided 


DONALD  M'KAY,  OF  SOUTH  CAROLINA.  27 

proscription  follows  any  opposition  to  this  self-constituted  power. 
Hence  it  is  that  the  state  acts  with  such  promptness  and  apparent  una- 
nimity on  all  federal  questions  till  the  people  are  threatened  with 
actual  revolution,  as  in  the  cases  of  nullification  and  secession,  when  the 
latent  patriotism  of  the  masses  is  aroused,  and  overcomes  the  restraints 
so  dangerously  used,  by  restoring  the  political  element  to  its  proper 
equilibrium,  and  the  people  to  their  senses  again.  This  subject  has 
been  enlarged  upon  more  to  illustrate  the  difficulties  surmounted  by 
the  energy  of  Colonel  McKay,  in  the  last  contest  for  the  Union, 
than  to  needlessly  arraign  or  cast  reflections  on  the  policy  of 
that  gallant  little  state,  which,  Avith  all  her  captiousness  towards  the 
north,  cannot  efface  the  affection  and  pride  with  which  every  right- 
minded  northern  man  regards  her  high-toned  sentiments  and  well- 
tried  chivalry  ;  and  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  there  is  sufficient  patriotism 
yet  in  the  country  to  effectually  put  down  that  fell  spirit  of  fanaticism 
and  cupidity  which  have  so  long,  by  their  unrighteous  attacks  on  south- 
ern institutions,  under  cover  of  mock  philanthropy,  done  much  to 
destroy  that  fraternal  union  which  a  common  kindred  and  a  common 
destiny  had  cemented. 

With  all  its  imperfections,  (and  what  government  is  perfect  ?)  the 
Union  is  the  sheet  anchor,  as  well  of  southern  rights  as  of  northern 
freedom  :  it  protects  the  institutions  peculiar  to  all  classes  and  sections  ; 
and  even  the  institution  of  slavery,  the  subject  of  so  much  discord 
among  ourselves,  finds  its  surest  defence  imder  the  sanction  of  a  con- 
stitution and  a  government  able  to  restrain  the  unprincipled  demagogue 
at  home,  or  to  prevent  the  more  humiliating  interference  of  its  enemies 
abroad. 

It  is  to  such  practical  and  fearless  men  as  Colonel  McKay  we  must 
look  for  remedies  against  the  evils  peculiar  to  questions  of  sectional 
interest  and  prejudice,  Avho,  while  sensibly  alive  to  the  interest  and 
dignity  of  his  state,  patriotically  opposes  all  remedies  not  contemplated 
by  the  constitution,  and,  in  defiance  of  popular  clamor,  resists  the 
Quixotic  appeal  to  revolution  by  his  native  state,  and  defeats  the  ultra 
doctrines  of  her  leaders,  who  would,  with  unwarrantable  zeal,  press 
issues  single-handed,  as  if  the  custody  of  southern  interests  and  south- 
ern honor  had  been  especially  delegated  to  their  protection  and 
defence. 

Colonel  McKay  has  often  been  taunted  with  loving  minority  prin- 
ciples, and  yet  such  have  been  his  triumphs  that  his  policy  has 
prevailed  in  every  practical  demonstration  of  the  people. 

He  has  long  agitated  the  question  of  giving  the  choice  of  presiden- 
tial electors  direct  to  the  people,  a  democratic  right  enjoyed  by  the 
people  of  every  state  in  the  Union,  except  South  Carolina,  whose  legis- 
lature still  continues  to  exercise  it.  He  is  also  opposed  to  the  union 
of  bank  and  state,  which  has  existed  since  1815,  when  a  state  bank 
was  chartered,  which  has  been  a  source  of  corruption  to  the  legisla- 
ture, and  of  pecuniary  loss  to  the  people,  ever  since.  These  questions 
are  challenging  the  attention  of  the  state  generally,  and,  true  to  their 
democratic  faith,  will  eventually  be  settled  in  accordance  with  Colo- 
nel McKay's  views  of  sound  policy. 

Colonel  McKay,  like  most  southern  gentlemen,  has  served  a  long 


28  SKETCHES  OF  EMINENT  AMERICANS. 

period  in  the  military  of  his  state,  holding  nearly  all  the  subordinate 
offices  in  the  line,  and  reaching  the  office  of  Inspector-General  of  Di- 
vision, with  the  rank  of  Colonel.  He  has  been  an  active  churchman, 
and  one  of  the  vestry  of  the  Episcopal  church  of  his  town,  and  an  effi- 
cient officer  of  one  of  the  oldest  and  most  useful  societies  in  the  state 
for  the  diffusion  of  education.  He  has  invariably  refused  to  serve  in 
any  political  capacity,  regarding  such  offices  as  incompatible  with  his 
business  pursuits,  and  his  great  desire  to  be  free  to  advocate  principles 
without  the  restrictions  of  party.  He  has  recently  been  unanimously 
elected  President  of  the  Northeastern  Rail-road  Company,  and  has 
removed  to  Charleston  to  perform  the  duties  of  that  office,  still,  how- 
ever, retaining  his  presidency  of  the  Bank  of  Georgetown.  During 
the  summer  he  resides  on  his  plantation,  near  Bennettsville,  South 
Carolina,  where  he  is  engaged  in  agricultural  pursuits,  in  the  midst  of 
the  friends  of  his  youth. 

He  has  three  daughters  and  one  son,  whose  education  receives  his 
closest  attention.  He  is  social,  but  temperate  ;  warm  in  his  friend- 
ships, zealous  in  business — ^having  a  keen  sense  of  honor  ;  a  cultivated 
and  easy  address,  with  that  happy  mixture  of  vanity  running  through 
his  conversation,  and  generally  exhibited  in  the  actions  of  self-made 
men,  which  serve  as  shades  to  bring  out  the  features  of  those  you 
esteem.  His  sentiments  are  eminently  conservative  and  practicable,  and 
although  his  fortune  seems  to  have  been  cast  among  those  who  widely 
differ  with  him  on  many  subjects,  yet,  his  high  character  and  manly 
bearino-  in  such  controversies  rarely  fail  to  insure  him  the  private 
esteem  of  his  opponents.  Indeed,  he  is  often  the  umpire  to  settle  differ- 
ences between  them,  and  he  is  generally  the  confidant  of  the  commu- 
nity in  all  business  matters  requiring  assistance  and  advice. 


HENRY  WYLES  CUSHMAN,  OF  MASSACHUSETTS.  29 

HENRY  WYLES  CUSHMAN, 

LIEUTENANT  GOVERNOR  OF  MASSACHUSETTS, 

Was  born  in  Bernardston,  Franklin  county,  Massachusetts,  August 
9th,  1805.  He  is  a  descendant  of  the  eighth  generation,  in  a  direct 
line,  from  Robert  Cushman,  one  of  the  Puritans  who  came  to  Plymouth, 
Massachusetts,  in  1621,  and  who  delivered  the  first  sermon  that  was 
printed  in  the  United  States,  and  of  whom  Gov.  Bradford  remarked, 
"  Mr.  Cushman  was  our  right  hand  with  the  adventurers,  and  for 
divers  years  managed  all  our  business  with  them  to  our  great  advan- 
tage." His  father  is  the  Hon.  Polycarpus  L.  Cushman,  a  highly 
respectable  citizen  of  Bernardston ;  and  his  mother,  whose  name 
(Wyles)  in  part  he  bears,  was  from  Colchester,  Connecticut.  His 
genealogy  from  the  first  of  the  name  who  settled  in  America,  is  as 
follows,  viz. :  Robert  Cushman,  the  Puritan  ;  Elder  Thomas  Cush- 
man ;  Rev.  Isaac  Cushman ;  Lieut.  Isaac  Cushman  ;  Capt.  Nathaniel 
Cushman  ;  Dr.  Polycarpus  Cushman ;  Hon.  Polycarpus  Loring  Cush- 
man ;  Henry  Wyles  Cushman. 

His  maternal  ancestor  was  Mary  Allerton,  who  came  over  in  the 
"  Mayflower,"  in  1620,  the  daughter  of  Isaac  Allerton,  one  of  the 
most  prominent  and  useful  in  that  band  of  worthies  who,  for  the  sake 
of  enjoying  religious  liberty,  made  the  first  settlement  in  New- 
England,  at  Plymouth.  Mr.  C.  is  therefore  of  "  full-blooded  Puritan 
stock,"  his  paternal  and  maternal  ancestors  having  both  been  mem- 
bers of  the  Rev.  John  Robinson's  church,  at  Leyden,  in  Holland.  We 
think  he  may  well  be  proud  of  this  descent ;  for  most  of  the  stern, 
radical  republicanism  and  pure  Christianity  that  has  so  highly  distin- 
guished the  people  of  the  United  States  has  proceeded  from  that 
source.  And  in  coming  ages  men  will  value  and  esteem  such  ances- 
tors more  than  a  descent  from  "  royal  blood." 

"  But  by  your  father's  worth  if  yours  you  rate, 
Count  me  those  only  who  were  good  and  greats 

The  Cushmans  in  the  United  States  have  all  descended  from 
Robert  Cushman  and  Isaac  Allerton,  the  Puritans,  and  now  number 
over  one  thousand ;  and  they  have  ever  been  disting-uished  for  their 
love  of  political  and  religious  liberty,  which  was  such  a  prominent 
element  in  the  character  of  their  forefathers.  The  sequel  will  show, 
we  think,  that  the  subject  of  this  brief  memoir  has  not  fallen  from  the 
sterling  integrity,  sound  republicanism,  and  undefiled  Christianity  of 
his  ancestors. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  received  his  education,  principally,  in  the 
common  school,  and  at  Deerfield  and  New-Salem  academies,  in  his 
native  county.  At  the  age  of  eighteen  he  entered  Capt.  Partridge's 
"  American  Literary,  Scientific  and  Military  Academy,"  at  Norwich, 
Vt.,  and  there  pursued  his  studies  about  two  years.  From  the  same 
institution,  continued  under  the  name  of  the  "  Norwich  University,"  he 


30  SKETCHES  OF  EMINENT  AMERICANS. 

received,  in  1827,  the  honorary  degree  of  "Master  of  Arts."  After 
leaving  Norwich  he  was  engaged  for  two  or  three  years  in  teaching 
school  in  winter,  acquiring  the  reputation  of  a  successful  and  popular 
teacher,  and  in  laboring  on  his  father's  farm  in  summer.  In  June, 
1828,  he  was  married  to  Maria  Louisa  Dickman,  a  daughter  of  the 
late  Thomas  Dickman,  Esq.,  of  Springfield,  of  whom  it  was  inscribed 
on  his  tomb-stone,  "  He  was  the  first  printer,  the  first  bookseller,  and 
the  first  postmaster  of  Greenfield,  Mass." 

In  1837  Mr.  Cushman  first  took  his  seat  in  the  house  of  represen- 
tatives of  Massachusetts,  as  a  member  from  Bernardston,  and  he  was 
re-elected  to  the  same  place  in  the  years  1839,  1840,  1843  and  1844. 

In  1841  he  was  one  of  the  democratic  candidates  for  the  state  senate 
from  Franklin  county,  and  was  re-nominated  in  1843  and  1844. 
The  county  being  strongly  whig,  he  was  not,  of  course,  elected.  But, 
in  1844,  a  vacancy  in  the  senate  having  occurred  by  the  decease  of 
Hon.  William  Whittaker,  Mr.  Cushman  was  chosen  by  the  legislature 
to  fill  that  vacancy.  A  singular  combination  of  circumstances  at  that 
time  occurred.  Mr.  Cushman  and  his  father  were  members  of  the 
same  senate,  from  the  same  county,  and  from  the  same  town  ;  Avere 
connected  in  business ;  lived  near  each  other,  and  were  intimate  in 
their  social  relations  (Mr.  C.  being  an  only  child),  but  differing  in  poli- 
tics ;  the  father  representing  the  whig,  and  the  son  the  democratic 
party.  Strangers  who  visited  the  senate  that  year  often  inquired  for 
the  father  and  son  who  represented  the  same  county,  but  were  of  oppo- 
site politics,  and  the  circumstance  was  extensively  noticed  in  the 
newspapers  at  the  time. 

As  a  debater  in  the  legislature,  Mr.  C.  was  never  very  prominent. 
But  when  he  did  address  the  members,  his  good  common  sense  and 
sound  judgment  always  secured  him  an  attentive  hearing.  He  never 
spoke  unless  he  had  some  facts  or  arguments  to  communicate  that  had 
a  direct  bearing  upon  the  question  under  consideration.  His  remarks 
in  the  House  of  Representatives,  in  1840,  on  the  subject  of  amending 
the  constitution,  which  were  published  in  the  Boston  Post  and  other 
papers,  are  a  fair  specimen  of  his  style  of  speaking  and  reasoning. 

We  give  an  extract  from  his  remarks  on  that  occasion,  which  shows 
something  of  his  abilities  as  a  public  speaker  : 

"  This  article  of  amendment,  Mr.  Speaker,  contains  four  distinct 
propositions,  on  each  of  which  I  propose  to  make  a  few  remarks — 
and,  as  the  whole  question  was  discussed  by  the  last  legislature,  and 
has  been  so  long  before  the  people  and  this  legislature,  I  assure  the 
house  I  shall  not  trouble  it  with  a  '  long  talk'  upon  the  subject. 

"  The  first  proposition  relates  to  the  senate,  and,  if  adopted,  will 
change  the  basis  of  the  senate  from  a  property  or  valuation  basis,  to 
one  p)urely  of  population. 

"  The  second  section  of  the  first  chapter  of  the  constitution  of 
Massachusetts  provides,  that  '  the  general  court,  in  assigning  the  num- 
bers (of  the  senate)  to  be  selected  by  the  people  by  the  respective 
districts,  shall  govern  themselves  by  the  proportion  of  public  taxes  paid 
by  said  districts.' 

"  The  proposed  amendment  bases  the  senate  on  population  as  fol- 
lows : — '  The  senate  shall  consist  of  forty  members,  and  in  the  year 


HENRY  WYLES  CUSHMAN,  OF  MASSACHUSETTS.  31 

1840,  and  every  ten  years  thereafter,  the  governor  and  council  shall 
assign  the  number  of  senators  to  be  chosen  by  each  district,  according 
to  the  number  of  inhabitants  in  the  same.^ 

"  A  radical  and  highly  important  change  in  the  manner  of  deter- 
mining the  number  of  senators  to  which  each  district  shall  be  entitled, 
is  thus  proposed.  Such  a  change  I  believe,  sir,  is  highly  desirable 
and  correct  in  principle,  and  for  the  following  reasons  : 

"  First.  The  property  basis  of  the  senate  is  contrary  to  the  first  princi- 
ples of  our  govern7nent.  From  the  time  Avhen  the  first '  compact'  was 
entered  into  by  our  pilgrim  fathers  on  board  the  Mayflower,  in  the 
harbor  of  old  Plymouth,  in  the  year  1620,  to  this  day,  the  great  princi- 
ple that  has  been  contended  for  by  the  friends  of  the  people  is,  that 
ours  is  a  government  of  men,  and  not  of  property  ;  and  that  politically 
considered,  one  man  has  the  same  rights  and  privileges — the  same 
political  power  as  another  man.  Hence  we  find  in  the  first  article  of 
the  declaration  of  rights  of  our  constitution,  that  axiom  in  politics  that 
'  all  men  are  born  free  and  equal. ^  Not  equal  in  mind,  not  equal  in 
moral  or  physical  power,  but  having  equal  political  rights  and  privi- 
leges. Such  is  the  theory  of  our  government.  But,  in  practice,  how 
does  the  property  basis  of  the  senate  correspond  with  it  1  It  contra- 
dicts it  most  directly.  The  constitution,  therefore,  virtually  asserts  in 
one  place  what  it  denies  in  another. 

"  Again,  by  the  ninth  article  of  the  bill  of  rights,  it  is  provided,  that 
'  all  the  inhabitants  of  the  commonwealth,  having  such  qualifications 
as  they  shall  establish  by  their  frame  of  government,  have  an  equal 
right  to  elect  officers.^  Now,  compare  this  with  the  property  basis  of  the 
senate.  Wealth,  money,  goods,  wares  and  merchandise,  lands  and 
tenements,  are  there  represented — not  men,  not  the  people.  If  it  was. 
the  labor  of  the  people,  or  the  income  of  wealth,  it  would  be  somewhat 
different.  But  it  is  wealth  itself  that  constitutes  the  senate.  Is  that 
consistent  with  the  principle  of  a  democratic  republic  ?  I  think  not, 
sir. 

"  The  senate  of  Massachusetts  has  often  been  called  the  aristo- 
cratic branch;  and  has  it  not  been  called  so  with  propriety,  when  we 
consider  that  the  number  of  senators  is  determined  by  the  number  of 
dollars  which  each  district  possesses  ?  A  more  anti-democratic  basis 
can  hardly  be  conceived  of ;  one  more  contrary  to  the  theory  of  our 
government,  and  the  provisions  of  the  Bill  of  Rights. 

"  Second,  I  further  objected  to  the  property  basis  of  the  senate,  be- 
cause, in  its  practical  operation,  it  is  unjust  and  unequal. 

******** 

"  The  two  counties  which  suffer  most  by  the  property  basis  of  the 
senate  are  Barnstable  and  Franklin.  Each  of  these  counties  have 
about  30,000  inhabitants,  and  but  one  senator  each.  And  why  must 
the  people  of  those  counties  thus  suflfer  ?  Are  they  not  as  worthy  ? 
Have  they  not  the  right  to  be  as  fully  represented  at  the  senate  board 
as  the  people  of  Suffolk  or  Nantucket  l 

"  For  Franklin  county,  which  I  have  the  honor  to  represent  in  part, 
on  this  floor,  I  can  speak,  sir.  The  people  of  no  part  of  the  common- 
wealth are  more  honest,  intelligent,  more  fully  and  essentially  demo- 
cratic, than  they  are  in  '  little  Franklin,'  as  she  has  diminutively  been 


32  SKETCHES  OF  EMINENT  AMERICANS. 

called.  Yes,  sir,  the  people  of  that  county  '  know  their  rights,  and 
knowing,  dare  maintain  them' — and  I  presume  the  people  of  Barnsta- 
ble are  not  less  so.  A  more  rational,  just,  equitable  and  democratic 
representation  of  the  several  counties,  in  the  senate,  is,  therefore, 
highly  desirable. 

"  But  let  us  take  another  comparative  view  of  the  representation  in 
the  senate.  If  thirteen  thousand  persons  in  Boston  are  entitled  to  a 
senator,  then  a  single  voter  has  more  than  double  the  political  power  in 
electing  senators,  in  that  county,  than  a  voter  has  in  Barnstable  or 
Franklin.  By  changing  his  residence  from  one  county  to  another,  a 
voter  may  increase  his  political  power  in  electing  senators  more  than 
one  half ;  or  may  diminish  it  in  the  same  proportion. 

"  Again,  a  single  individual,  in  Boston  or  Nantucket,  who  is  worth 
a  million  of  dollars,  exercises  in  fact  as  much  power  in  constituting 
the  senate  as  one  thousand  independent  farmers,  worth  one  thousand 
dollars  each,  in  other  counties  !     Is  that  equal  ? 

"  But  suppose  a  very  wealthy  individual,  John  Jacob  Astor,  for 
instance,  should  move  into  Barnstable,  Nantucket  or  Franklin,  with 
twenty  millions  of  dollars  or  more,  he  would  give  to  the  county  four 
senators,  in  addition  to  what  they  now  have  ; — each  senator  being  the 
representative  of  about  five  millions  of  property  ?  Is  such  a  basis  for 
one  branch  of  our  legislature  agreeable  to  the  principles  of  our  govern- 
ment, and  in  accordance  with  the  provisions  of  our  bill  of  rights  1 
It  seems  to  me  not,  sir.  Adopt  a  population  basis,  and  no  such 
inequality  exists." 

While  a  member  of  the  legislature  he  was  frequently  appointed 
chairman  of  important  committees  ;  and  we  are  informed  that  he  never 
reported  a  bill  that  was  not  passed.  In  1837  he  made  an  interesting 
report  in  favor  of  a  further  geological  survey  of  the  commonwealth  ; 
from  which  we  subjoin  a  short  extract : 

"  It  has  ever  been  the  policy  of  the  government  of  this  common- 
wealth to  encourage,  in  all  suitable  ways, '  a  development  of  the 
resources  of  our  prosperity,  which  nature,  with  an  unsparing  hand,  has 
scattered  over  the  state.  The  soil  and  the  mine,  as  well  as  the  more 
scientific  branches  of  investigation,  have  each  received  attention  of  a 
truly  liberal,  yet  wise  administration  of  our  government.  It  was  in 
that  spirit  that  appropriations  have  been  made,  from  time  to  time,  for 
a  topographical  survey  of  the  commonwealth.  In  the  same  liberal 
spirit,  also,  which  desires  '  the  greatest  good  of  the  greatest  number,' 
have  appropriations  been  made  from  our  treasury,  for  an  examination, 
scientific  and  practical,  of  the  geology  and  mineralogy  of  the  territory 
of  our  state. 

"  In  this  respect  Massachusetts  has  the  honor  to  take  the  lead  ;  and 
your  committee  rejoice  to  know  that  several  of  her  sister  states  are 
following  her  example.  The  neighboring  states  of  New-York,  Con- 
necticut and  Maine,  foreseeing  the  benefits  which  must  vmavoidably 
result  to  their  citizens,  both  in  a  scientific  and  practical  point  of  view, 
have  each  commenced  a  thorough  examination  of  the  geology  and 
natural  history  of  their  respective  territories.  Hence  we  observe  the 
favorable  influence,  which,  besides  a  vast  practical  benefit  to  our  citi- 
zens, has  resulted  from  the  steps  which  have  been  taken  by  this  state, 


HENRY  WYLES  CUSHMAN,  OF  MASSACHUSETTS.  33 

far  an  examination  of  the  geological  and  mineralogical  resources  of  our 
territory. 

"  Your  committee  are  decidedly  of  the  opinion,  that  the  advantages 
of  a  further  geological  survey  of  the  commonwealth  will  be  numerous 
and  great  to  all  classes  of  our  citizens  ;  and  further,  that  a  small 
appropriation  in  that  way,  might,  and  probably  would  be  acceptable  to 
the  great  body  of  the  people  ;  and  for  the  following  reasons  : 

"  1st.  In  an  agricultural  point  of  view.  In  the  previous  survey,  no 
attention,  or  but  little,  was  paid  to  an  examination  of  the  various  soils 
abounding  in  different  parts  of  the  state.  Now,  it  is  an  incontrovertible 
fact,  that  without  a  knowledge  of  the  constituent  qualities  of  the  soil, 
the  practical  farmer  has  not  all  the  information  he  ought  to  possess  in 
order  to  render  his  business  most  successful.  Different  soils  require 
different  management  and  different  manures.  Take,  for  instance,  the 
single  circumstance  of  the  use  of  g}^psum  or  plaster  of  paris  on  land. 
It  is  well  known  by  practical  agriculturists,  that  on  some  soils  it  will 
produce  a  most  astonishing  effect,  doubling,  and,  in  some  cases, 
quadrupling  the  product ;  while  on  other  soils,  not  the  least  effect  is 
discoverable.  Now,  had  that  question  been  settled  by  scientific 
analysis  and  experiment,  what  a  saving  of  time  and  expenditure  would 
have  been  caused ! 

2d.  "  It  is  said,  also,  that  there  are  strong  indications  of  vmrl  to  be 
found  in  the  valley  of  the  Connecticut,  and  in  other  parts  of  the  state  ; 
and  it  is  the  opinion  of  many  eminent  agriculturists,  that  the  applica- 
tion of  it  to  certain  kinds  of  land  will  produce  a  most  astonishing  and 
powerfid  result — so  much  so,  that  it  would  be  profitable  to  freight  it 
many  miles  for  that  purpose.  But  the  fact  of  its  existence,  its  peculiar 
location,  or  its  fertilizing  powers,  will,  probably,  never  be  ascertained, 
unless  by  the  direction  and  patronage  of  the  government. 

"3d.  The  progressive  advancement  of  the  science  of  geology,  is 
another  reason  why  further  research  should  be  made.  Every  year 
brings  to  light  new  facts  illustrating  the  economical  and  scientific 
geology  of  the  country.  As  more  is  learned  from  time  to  time,  the 
means  and  ahility  to  learn  are  proportionably  increased.  The  science 
of  geology  partakes  of  the  characteristic  '  go-ahead'  spirit  of  the  times. 
As  an  instance  of  this,  the  discovery,  quite  recently,  of  the  foot-marks 
of  birds,  of  different  species,  imbedded  deeply  in  the  rock,  in  the  valley 
of  the  Connecticut,  is  most  remarkable.  Other  classes  of  geological 
phenomena  have  also  been  brought  to  notice,  which  urgently  require 
further  examination." 

In  1839,  he  made  a  report  on  the  subject  of  property  exempt  from 
attachment,  and  introduced  and  advocated  an  order  in  favor  of  the 
exemption  from  the  trustee  process,  of  the  last  month's  wages  of  work- 
ing-men, women  and  children.  In  1840,  he  was  chairman  of  the  com- 
mittee on  the  subject  of  an  amendment  of  the  constitution,  and  made 
an  able  report  on  that  question.  He  was  also,  the  same  year,  chair- 
man of  the  standing  committee  of  the  house  on  agriculture,  a  subject 
in  which  he  has  always  taken  a  lively  interest.  In  1843,  he  was  a 
member  of  the  committee  on  probate  and  chancery  ;  also,  an  important 
member  of  the  famous  committee  of  that  year  on  "  retrenchment,"  from 
which  committee  he  reported  a  bill  reducing  the  compensation  of  sher- 

VOL.  III.  3 


34  SKETCHES   OF  EMINENT  AMERICANS. 

iffs,  &c.  In  1844,  he  was  a  member  of  the  committee  on  "  educa- 
tion," also  of  the  committee  on  "  finance."  In  the  senate,  the  same 
year,  he  made  an  elaborate  report  on  the  subject  of  the  executive 
appointments  of  Gov.  Morton  the  previous  year,  defending  him  from  the 
attacks  of  his  opponents. 

We  add  an  extract  from  Mr.  Cushman's  minority  report  on  that 
subject : — 

"  The  first  inquiry,  then,  that  presents  itself,  is,  were  those  appoint- 
ments by  the  late  executive  a  constitutional  exercise  of  powers  dele- 
gated to  him  ?  This  will  not  be  denied  ;  and  if  not,  by  what  authority 
can  either  branch  of  the  legislature,  or  a  committee,  revise  and  con- 
demn a  constitutional  act  of  the  executive,  having  no  reference  to  any 
matter  of  legislation  ? 

"  The  majority  of  the  committee  refrain  from  recommending  any 
action  except  printing  their  report  and  accompanying  documents — to 
which  the  undersigned  has  no  objection  ;  and  it  is  obvious  they  can 
do  no  more,  unless  it  be  to  recommend  a  change  in  the  constitution ; 
and  yet  they  assume  to  censure  and  condemn  the  constitutional  exer- 
cise of  the  power  of  an  independent  and  co-ordinate  branch  of  the 
government,  over  which,  in  this  form  of  proceeding,  the  senate  has  no 
control. 

"  If  this  is  to  be  established  as  a  precedent — if  such  a  course  is  to 
be  pursued  hereafter  by  the  dominant  party  in  the  commonwealth — it 
follows  that  each  separate  and  independent  branch  of  the  government, 
in  matters  where  they  are  expressly  forbidden  by  the  constitution  to 
interfere  with  each  other,  may  resort  to  mutual  crimination  and  recrimi- 
nation, and  thus  involve  the  whole  in  confusion  and  conflict.  By  the 
same  rule,  the  present  governor  and  council  may,  on  their  records, 
censure  and  condemn  the  acts  of  legislation  of  the  last  senate  and 
house  of  representatives,  and  a  future  senate  may  retort  upon  the 
present  executive  ;  or  this,  or  any  other  senate  or  house  of  repre- 
sentatives, may  call  for  a  list  of  the  decisions  of  the  Supreme  Judicial 
Court,  and  proceed,  in  a  formal  report,  to  condemn  and  censure  them 
as  '  extraordinary  and  unexampled  ;' — '  of  a  partisan  and  unwarrantable 
character,'  and  calculated  to  lower  the  dignity  of  the  bench. 

"  In  short,  where  is  this  assumed  right  of  mutual  censure  to  end,  if 
the  practice,  now  introduced  for  the  first  time,  it  is  believed,  in  this 
commonwealth,  is  to  be  received  as  a  legitimate  construction  of  the 
constitutional  provisions  for  preserving  the  respective  independence  of 
the  several  -^lepartments  ? 

"  The  right  to  censure  and  condemn  cannot  exist  as  between  the 
several  departments  without  the  right  to  try,  and  no  trial  can  be  had 
without  the  right  of  the  parties  implicated  to  be  heard  in  their  defence. 
And  yet,  in  this  case,  without  the  power  to  try,  or  to  pass  any  legisla- 
tive action  thereon,  without  hearing  or  explanation,  a  committee  ol 
this  board  have  agreed  to  do  what  the  senate,  whose  agents  they  are, 
have  no  power  to  do,  viz.  :  to  censure  and  condemn  the  exercise  of  a 
constitutional  power  by  the  executive  department. 

"  For,  what  object  is  to  be  accomplished  by  the  report  of  the  majority 
of  the  committee,  which  has  now  been  made  to  the  senate  ?     Is  it 


HENRY    WYLES    CUSHMAN,    OF  MASSACHUSETTS.  35 

looking  to  the  future,  when  other  elections  shall  be  held  ?  Is  it  to 
form  '  political  capital'  for  another  campaign,  when  the  late  executive 
may  be  again  a  candidate  for  office  ?  The  dullest  comprehension  can- 
not fail  to  observe  that  unscrupulous  politicians  may  hereafter  use  that 
report  for  mere  partisan  and  selfish  purposes.  That  the  dignified  and 
grave  proceedings  of  the  senate  of  the  commonwealth  of  Massachu- 
setts may  thus  be  desecrated  to  the  unholy  purpose  of  a  partisan  war- 
fare, and  its  records  covered  with  the  abuse  of  a  preceding  executive, 
is  certainly  much  to  be  regretted  by  all  those  who  love,  honor  and 
respect  the  old  Bay  State." 

He  also  made  other  reports  on  various  minor  subjects,  and  was  a 
monitor  in  the  house  three  years  in  succession.  As  a  member  he  was 
industrious  and  attentive,  performing  his  full  share  of  the  labor  which 
always  devolves  on  a  few  superior  minds. 

In  1843,  Mr.  Cushman,  as  chairman  of  a  committee,  reported  an 
"  Address  of  the  Democratic  County  Convention  to  the  people  of  the 
county  of  Franklin,"  which  was  adopted  by  the  convention,  and  ordered 
to  be  printed.     We  subjoin  an  extract  from  that  address  : — 

"  Fellow-citizens  ! — It  is  not  merely  the  right,  but  it  is  also  the  duty, 
of  intelligent  freemen  to  examine,  with  scrutinizing  care  and  attention, 
not  only  the  professed  principles,  but  also  the  acts  of  the  political  par- 
ties of  the  day,  and  of  the  candidates  they  may  place  before  the  people 
for  their  suffrages.  Our  forefathers,  from  whom  emanated  those  great 
democratic  principles  contained  in  the  Declaration  of  Independence, 
examined  wiih  untiring  zeal  and  energy  the  Tory  doctrines  then  so 
common  among  those  who  administered  the  government.  The  politi- 
cal revolution  of  the  year  1800,  which  brought  the  immortal  principles 
of  Jefferson  before  the  world,  was  the  result  of  a  profound  examina- 
tion— of  the  '  sober,  second  thought'  of  the  people. 

"  Such  ever  has  been,  and  ever  will  be,  the  case.  '  When  the  peo- 
ple sleep,  tyrants  reign,'  said  a  profound  statesman  of  another  hemis- 
phere ;  and  this  truth  should  speak  to  us,  republicans,  a  volume  of 
warning  and  of  caution.     In  the  beautiful  language  of  the  poet, — 

'  Oh  !  not  yet 
May'st  thou  unbrace  thy  corselet,  nor  lay  by 
Thy  sword — nor  yet,  0  Freedom  !   close  thy  lids 
In  slumber;  for  thine  enemy  never  sleeps, 
And  thou  must  watch  and  combat,  till  the  day 
Of  the  new  Earth  and  Heaven.' 

"  Fellow-citizens  ! — An  election  of  more  than  ordinary  importance 
IS  approaching,  as  it  will  probably  decide,  in  some  considerable  degree, 
your  political  '  weal  or  woe'  for  some  time  to  come.  We  ask  you  to 
examine  candidly,  and  without  bias  or  prejudice,  the  two  great  parties 
into  which  the  country  is  now  principally  divided.  We  make  an  issue 
before  you  wdth  the  utmost  confidence,  for  it  is  one  of  the  cardinal 
principles  of  democracy,  that  the  people,  when  sufficiently  enlightened, 
will  always  act  right.  It  does  not  require  great  learning,  or  profound 
attainments,  but  an  honest,  well-informed,  unprejudiced,  liberal-minded 
heart,  to  judge  what  is  best  for  all  the  people  ;— who  will  best  make 


36  SKETCHES  OF  EMINENT  AMERICANS, 

and  administer  the  laws — not  for  the  benefit  of  the  few,  the  '  high- 
born'— but  for  the  many,  for  mankind. 

"  We  have  said  two  great  political  parties  are  noAv  before  the  coun- 
try, with  their  principles  and  their  candidates.  Parties  of  a  similar 
character  have  existed  ever  since  the  formation  of  our  government, 
and,  indeed,  they  can  be  traced  back  much  further,  even  as  far  back 
as  the  reign  of  Charles  II.,  if  not  the  days  of  our  Saviour.  This 
division  of  the  people  has,  indeed,  assumed  different  aspects  and  differ- 
ent names,  under  the  varying  circumstances  of  the  age  and  of  the 
world.  But  the  spirit  and  leading  characteristics  of  each  have  ever 
been  the  same. 

"  On  the  one  side  Ave  find  the  true,  the  genuine,  the  honest,  the 
hearty  friend  of  the  people — of  equal  rights  and  equal  privileges — of 
that  great  principle  of  '  equality  before  the  law,  as  we  are  equal  before 
God' — of  a  government  and  system  of  legislation  which  grants  no  ex- 
clusive privileges  '  to  make  the  rich  richer' — to  take  from  the  hand  of 
labor  w^hat  it  earns  by  the  sweat  of  its  brow,  and  give  it  to  the  specu- 
lator, the  banker,  the  broker,  or  the  non-producer  of  any  kind  ;  but 
like  '  light,  air,  and  the  dews  of  heaven,  its  benefits  and  its  favors  fall 
equally  on  all :'  in  a  word,  the  truth-loving,  plain-hearted  Democrat- 

"  Democrats  of  Franklin !  Our  cause  is  before  you.  We  have 
placed 

'  Out  banner  on  the  outer  wall,' 

and  inscribed  on  it,  in  characters  of  living  light,  Jeffersonian  Demo- 
cracy ;  Morton  and  Reform.  Shall  that  banner,  as  heretofore,  float 
triumphantly,  or  shall  it  be  lowered  in  disgrace  to  the  dark  spirit  of 
federal  whiggery  ? 

"  Men  of  Franklin !  the  whole  country  expects  you  to  do  your  duty. 

"  Spread  broadcast  through  the  land  the  seed  of  Democratic 
Truth,  with  a  zeal  equal  to  the  importance  of  our  cause. 

"  Then  you  will  have  the  proud,  the  joyous  satisfaction  of  hearing 
it  proclaimed,  as  heretofore,  from  the  sands  of  Cape  Cod,  and  re- 
echoed from  the  verdant  hill-tops  of  Berkshire — the  Bay  State  is 
redeemed  ;   democracy  is  triumphant." 

In  1847,  Mr.  Cushman  was  first  nominated  by  the  democratic  party 
as  a  candidate  for  Lieut. -Governor,  on  the  ticket  with  General  Gush- 
ing for  Governor,  and  for  five  successive  years  he  has  been  a  candidate 
for  that  high  and  honorable  station.  And  it  is  a  somewhat  singular 
and  flattering  circumstance,  that  at  each  of  the  elections  when  he  has 
been  a  candidate  for  Lieut. -Governor,  he  has  received  more  votes,  by 
several  hundreds,  than  the  other  regular  democratic  candidates  on  the 
same  ticket. 

At  the  gubernatorial  election  in  1851,  there  being  no  choice  of  Gov- 
ernor and  Lieut. -Governor  by  the  people,  Mr.  Cushman  was  chosen, 
on  the  part  of  the  house  of  representatives,  as  one  of  the  two  candi- 
dates to  be  sent  up  to  the  senate.  On  the  11th  of  January,  of  that 
year,  he  received  every  vote  of  the  senate  for  that  oflice,  and,  on  the 
13th  of  January,  took  and  subscribed  the  oaths  of  oflice  as  Lieutenant- 
Governor  of  Massachusetts. 


HENRY   WYLES    CUSHMAN,    OF    MASSACHUSETTS.  37 

In  1852,  there  was  again  no  choice  of  Governor  and  Lieutenant- 
Governor  by  the  people  of  Massachusetts.  Mr.  Cu.shman  Avas  again 
chosen  by  both  branches  of  the  legislature,  as  Lieutenant-Governor, 
and  was  qualified  by  taking  and  subscribing  the  necessary  oaths  of 
olfice,  on  the  15th  of  January,  1852. 

His  course  as  Lieutenant-Governor  has  been  dignified,  discreet  and 
satisfactory  to  his  party  and  to  the  people  generally.  In  Massachusetts, 
the  Lieutenant-Governor  is,  ex  officio,  chairman  of  "  the  committee  on 
pardons,"  a  delicate,  difficult,  and  often  trying  situation.  For,  if  par- 
dons are  too  freely  granted,  the  laws  and  the  administration  of  justice 
are  thrown  into  disrepute  ;  but,  if  a  hardened  insensibility  predomi- 
nates, then  the  cause  of  humanity  and  equity,  the  great  objects  of  the 
pardoning  power,  are  lost  sight  of.  The  course  of  Mr.  Cushman  in 
that  particular  has  been  in  harmony  with  an  enlightened  and  humane 
public  sentiment :  conservative  and  cautious  on  the  one  hand,  but 
wisely  liberal  to  the  young,  to  the  reformed,  and  to  those  whose  pun- 
ishment is  largely  disproportionate  to  their  crimes. 

Having  been  a  candidate  for  the  office  of  Lieutenant-Governor  of 
Massachusetts  for  five  consecutive  years,  and  been  elected  to  that 
office  two  years,  Mr.  Cushman  has  recently  declined  being  again  a 
candidate  for  re-election.  The  following  is  an  extract  from  his  letter 
announcing  his  declination  : — 

"  In  retiring  from  ^  situation  m  which  I  have  been  placed  by  the 
kindness  of  my  political  friends  for  so  long  a  period,  I  beg  leave  to 
say,  that  every  year's  experience  and  observation  have  more  fully  con- 
firmed me  in  the  truthfulness  and  righteousness  of  those  great  princi- 
ples of  government  which  have  been  the  rule  and  guide  of  the  demo- 
cratic party  in  the  United  States,  from  the  days  of  Jeflerson  to  the 
present  time.  And  my  faith  is  daily  strengthened,  that  our  republic, 
directed  by  the  comprehensive,  liberal  and  progressive  policy  of  that 
party,  is  to  go  on  prospering  beyond  all  former  examples  ;  and  is  to 
show,  in  coming  time,  more  perfectly  a.  practical  belief  in  '  the  universal 
fatherhood  of  God  and  the  universal  brotherhood  of  man.' 

"  With  a  heart  full  of  gratitude  and  thanks  to  my  democratic  fellow- 
citizens  for  their  unvarying  support  at  all  times,  I  have  only  to  regret 
that  I  have  not  had  greater  ability  to  serve  them  more  efficiently  in 
disseminating  their  principles  and  establishing  their  policy  of  adminis- 
tration. I  indulge  the  hope,  however,  that  the  honor  and  the  integrity 
of  the  democratic  party  of  our  state  have  not  suftered  in  my  hands." 

In  his  native  town,  where  the  true  merits  of  a  man  are  best  known, 
Mr.  Cushman  has  always  been  remarkably  popular.  He  was  chosen 
a  member  of  the  school  committee  of  the  town  soon  after  arriving  at 
the  age  of  twenty-one,  and  continued  as  such  for  fifteen  years,  till  other 
duties  prevented  him  from  longer  serving  in  that  capacity.  He  has 
held  the  office  of  town-clerk  and  treasurer  for  nineteen  consecutive 
years,  and  has  frequently  been  appointed  to  many  other  responsible 
stations  by  the  people  of  his  town.  He  was  postmaster  for  ten  years, 
and  for  more  than  fifteen  years  a  highly  successful  superintendent  of  a 
Sabbath  School  in  Bernardston. 

For  nearly  twenty  years  Mr.  C.  and  his  wite  have  been  members  of 
the  Congregational  (Unitarian)  Church,  in   his  native  town,  of  which 


38  SKETCHES  OF  EMINENT  AMERICANS. 

he  is  an  active  and  leading  member,  and  their  practice  has  been  con- 
sistent with  their  professions. 

In  the  subject  of  education,  and  particularly  in  the  common  school, 
Mr.  Cushman  has  ever  taken  a  great  interest.  Many  years  since, 
vi^hen  the  Board  of  Education  in  Massachusetts  was  assailed  by  secret 
as  well  as  open  enemies,  he  aided  efficiently  in  sustaining  it,  by  his 
counsel  and  his  pen,  and  for  quite  a  number  of  years  he  has  been  one 
of  the  most  active  members  and  officers  of  the  Franklin  County  Com- 
mon School  Association.  He  is  now  a  member  of  the  Massachusetts 
Board  of  Education. 

He  has,  for  twenty  years  past,  been  a  frequent  contributor  and  cor- 
respondent to  the  periodical  press,  and  has  seldom  written  what  was 
not  interesting  and  instructive.  He  has  also  been  often  called  to  give 
lyceum  lectures,  and  addresses  on  various  occasions,  all  of  which  have 
been  creditable  and  popular  performances.  His  lectures  on  "  Punctu- 
ality," and  on  "  Physical  Education"  were  pertinent  and  practical,  and 
were  repeated  many  times  before  the  Lyceum  of  Franklin  county. 
He  prepared  and  delivered  also  a  minute  and  elaborate  "  History  of 
the  Shay's  Insurrection  in  Massachusetts,"  and  we  understand  it  is  his 
design  to  enlarge  and  publish  it  at  some  future  day.  Some  years  since 
he  compiled  an  "  Historical  Sketch  of  Bernardston,"  which  was  pub- 
lished at  the  time,  and,  like  the  local  history  of  the  New-England 
towns,  was  highly  valuable  and  interesting.  He»has  now  in  progress, 
and  will  soon  publish,  "  An  Historical  and  Genealogical  Account  of  the 
Cushmans  in  the  United  States,  from  the  days  of  Robert  Cushman, 
the  Puritan,  in  1617,  to  the  present  time."  A  work  of  that  kind  will 
be  valuable,  particularly  to  the  family  name,  and  will  be  useful  to  the 
genealogist  and  historian  of  future  ages.  He  has,  for  a  number  of 
years  past,  been  a  frequent  writer  of  political  articles  for  the  periodi- 
cals of  his  native  county  ;  some  of  which,  partaking  of  the  character- 
istics of  the  day,  were  rather  highly  seasoned  and  somewhat  personal. 
In  this  particular  he  only  imitated  his  contemporaries.  But  we  think, 
when  the  impartial  historian  shall  come  to  look  at  such  matters  in  the 
light  of  history,  they  will  hardly  stand  an  impartial  criticism — "  the 
test  of  time  and  the  judgment  of  men." 

Mr.  Cushmau's  letters  from  abroad,  which  have  been  quite  frequent, 
have  usually  been  read  with  satisfaction,  and  have  been  considered 
fair  specimens  of  an  epistolary  correspondence  for  the  periodical 
press. 

The  organization  of  Mr.  Cushman's  mind,  his  education  and  habits, 
are  such  that  the  details  of  business  entrusted  to  his  care  are  always 
faithfully  and  thoroughly  attended  to.  He  has,  therefore,  for  many 
years,  been  a  director  or  trustee  of  savings  and  insurance  institutions, 
and  an  officer  in  various  literary,  political  and  business  associations. 
He  is  now  an  ex-officio  member  of  the  Board  of  Overseers  of  Har- 
vard University  ;  a  trustee  of  Deerfield,  and  also  of  New  Salem  Acad- 
emy ;  a  trustee  of  the  Franklin  County  Institution  for  Savings,  and  of 
the  Franklin  County  Agricultural  Society  ;  a  director  of  the  State  Life 
Assurance  Company  at  Worcester,  of  the  Conway  Fire  Insurance 
Company,  and  of  the  Franklin  County  Bank ;  a  life  member  of  the 
American  Unitarian  Association,  of  the  Pilgrim  Society  at  Plymouth, 


HENRV    WYLES    CUSHMAN,    OF    MASSACHUSETTS.  39 

and  of  the  Franklin  County  Agricultural  Society  ;  a  corresponding 
member  of  tlie  Historic  Genealogical  Society  at  Boston,  and  first  "Vice- 
President  of  the  State  Legislative  Temperance  Society.  In  1849,  he 
was  chosen  President  of  the  Franklin  County  Bank,  at  Greenfield, 
which  office  he  now  holds.  In  January,  1851,  he  was  elected  Presi- 
dent of  the  Franklin  County  Agricultural  Society,  and  was  re-elected 
to  the  same  office  in  January,  1852.  He  was  a  member  of  the  "  Cen- 
tral Board  of  Agriculture  of  Massachusetts,"  and  is  now  an  ex-officio 
member  of  the  "  State  Board  of  Agriculture,"  in  the  establishment  of 
which,  by  an  act  of  the  legislature  of  Massachusetts,  in  April,  1852, 
he  took  an  active  and  influential  part. 

In  politics,  Mr.  Cushman  has,  for  many  years,  been  attached,  from 
the  deep  conviction  of  his  understanding,  to  the  democratic  party,  the 
policy  and  principles  of  which  he  most  sincerely  believes  to  be  for  the 
best  interests  of  our  country.  In  his  native  county,  and  in  the  state, 
he  has  been  among  the  most  prominent  and  efficient  leading  members 
of  his  party,  as  the  extracts  we  have  given  above,  from  his  writings, 
would  very  clearly  indicate.  His  course  as  a  politician  has  been  open 
and  frank,  and  though,  in  times  past,  some  of  his  political  opponents 
have,  from  "  petty  jealousy,"  endeavored  "  to  blast  his  fair  fame,"  yet, 
from  all  such  trials  he  has  come  out,  like  gold  from  the  furnace,  doubly 
purified.  While  he  adheres  strictly  to  the  democratic  organization,  his 
views  are  understood  to  be  decidedly  anti-slavery.  He  believes,  how- 
ever, that  all  sorts  of  slavery — moral,  political,  conventional,  as  well 
as  physical — are  to  be  ameliorated  and  abolished  by  the  diflusion  of 
knowledge,  Christianity,  and  republicanism  ;  and  that  such  an  advance 
in  civilization  is  to  come  through  the  great  democratic  ideas  and  the 
democratic  organizations  of  our  country.  He  is  a  firm  believer  in  the 
doctrine  of  "  human  progress"  in  every  department  of  literature,  sci- 
ence, theology,  and  education,  and  is,  therefore,  a  practical  reformer. 
That  a  "  good  time  's  coming"  for  our  country  and  for  humanity  he  most 
confidently  believes.  He  is,  consequently,  no  conservative — no  wor- 
shipper of  the  "  dead  past,"  but  is  willing  to  "  work  on  and  work  ever," 
hopeful  and  trusting  in  the  ultimate  high  destiny  of  humanity. 

In  his  organization,  Mr.  Cushman  is  cool,  collected,  and  anti-nerv- 
ous. He  therefore  examines  deliberately  and  acts  cautiously.  He 
seldom  gives  an  opinion  on  any  important  question  Avithout  a  full  con- 
sideration of  its  merits,  and,  when  his  opinion  is  once  formed,  it  requires 
strong  reasons  to  induce  him  to  change.  Firmness,  reliability,  delibe- 
ration and  sound  judgment  are  among  his  leading  characteristics.  In 
his  friendship  he  is  ever  true  and  steady,  and  while  he  "  forgives  his 
enemies,"  he  docs  not  forget  to  love  his  friends. 

In  his  business  transactions,  Mr.  Cushman  has  ever  had  the  reputa- 
tion of  perfect  integrity  and  a  high  sense  of  honor.  He  has,  therefore, 
been  successful,  and  has  accumulated  a  competence  of  "  this  world's 
goods." 

"  The  Rich  Men  of  Massachusetts,"  a  book  recently  published, 
includes  his  name  in  the  list,  and  says  of  him,  "  all  this  weight  of 
honor  he  has  borne  without  tottering,  nor  has  any  eminence  on  which 
he  has  stood  made  him  giddy.  He  is  decidedly  a  firm  man  and  self- 
possessed  ;  but  his  greatest  glory  is   the   possession   of  the  affection, 


40  SKETCHES   OF  EMINENT  AMERICANS. 

esteem  and  confidence  of  his  townsmen,  for  the  interest  he  takes  in 
every  thing  that  pertains  to  the  public  good  or  private  charity." 

In  all  the  private  relations  of  life,  as  a  citizen,  a  neighbor,  and  a 
friend,  Mr.  Cushman  sustains  a  high  and  irreproachable  character.  In 
his  habits  he  is  correct  and  regular.  He  is  strictly  a  temperance  man, 
and  is  at  this  time  the  first  Vice-President  of  the  Massachusetts  Legis- 
lative Temperance  Society.  His  perception  is  quick  and  clear ;  his 
judgment  discriminating  and  sound.  No  man  possesses,  in  a  greater 
degree,  the  confidence  and  esteem  of  the  community  in  which  he 
resides  ;  no  one  is  oftener  resorted  to,  by  those  in  trouble  and  distress, 
for  counsel  and  aid,  which  are  always  promptly  and  cheerfully  ren- 
dered. His  industry  is  well-directed  and  untiring.  Though  he  has 
not  the  vigorous  physical  constitution  possessed  by  some,  yet  he 
accomplishes  an  amount  of  labor  that  few  men  can  perform.  "  It  is 
better  to  wear  out,  than  to  rust  out,"  is  his  motto,  and  in  his  rigid 
adherence  to  this  rule,  and  in  the  acknowledged  purity  of  his  charac- 
ter, lies  the  great  secret  of  his  remarkable  success  in  life.  But,  we 
must  bring  this  sketch  to  a  close  ;  and,  as  we  follow  him  from  the  time 
when  he  first  stepped  upon  the  stage  of  action  through  all  the  various 
responsible  positions,  the  duties  of  which  he  has  so  ably,  faithfully  and 
acceptably  discharged,  to  his  present  high  and  honorable  station  in  the 
councils  of  his  native  state,  we  cannot  but  commend  to  the  youth  of 
Massachusetts  the  example  of  Henry  W.  Cushman,  as  worthy  of 
their  study,  respect,  and  imitation.* 

•  At  a  town  meeting  held  on  the  7th  of  March,  1853,  Mr.  Cushman  was  elected, 
by  a  large  majority,  as  a  delegate  from  Bernardston,  his  native  town,  to  the  conven- 
tion for  revising  the  constitution  of  Massachusetts.  This  aflbrds  the  best  evidence  of 
the  confidence  of  his  townsmen  in  his  integrity  as  a  man,  and  the  soundness  of 
his  principles  as  a  politician. — J.  L. 


TIMOTHY  BOUTELLE,  OF  MAINE.  41 

TIMOTHY.BOUTELLE, 

OF  WATERVILLE,  MAINE. 

Timothy  Boutelle,  of  Waterville,  in  the  county  of  Kennebec,  and 
State  of  Maine,  was  born  on  the  10th  of  November,  1777.  at  Leominster, 
Massachusetts. 

Col.  Timothy  Boutelle,  his  father,  was  a  respectable  farmer,  and 
served  in  one  or  two  campaigns  in  the  Revolutionary  War,  and  in  1785 
in  a  regiment  of  militia,  called  out  to  suppress  the  "  Shays  Rebellion." 

Mr.  Boutelle,  when  young,  had  a  feeble,  delicate  constitution,  which 
unfitted  him  for  the  labors  of  a  farm  ;  and  this  circumstance,  together 
with  a  love  for  study  and  the  early  indication  of  mental  vigor  and 
acuteness,  induced  his  father  to  give  him  a  public  education. 

He  entered  Harvard  University  in  1796,  and  was  graduated  in  1800, 
m  the  class  of  which  Washington  AUston,  the  painter.  Rev.  .los.  L. 
Buckminster,  and  the  present  learned  Chief  Justice  Shaw,  of  Mass., 
who  was  his  chum,  were  members.  Throughout  this  college  course  he 
maintained  a  manly  independence  of  character,  without  at  any  time  in- 
curring the  censure  of  the  government,  and  a  high  rank  of  scholar- 
ship in  a  class  distinguished  for  talents  in  that  celebrated  university. 

Having  determined  upon  the  law  for  his  profession,  and  his  father 
being  unable  to  furnish  him  with  the  means  of  pursuing  his  studies, 
Mr.  Boutelle  engaged  for  one  year  as  a  teacher  in  Leicester  Academy 
— an  honorable  employment,  very  generally  resorted  to  by  the  sons  of 
New-England  dependent  upon  their  own  resources  for  acquiring  the 
learned  professions,  which  so  many  of  them  have  adorned  in  after  life. 

While  engaged  in  teaching,  he  reviewed  and  extended  his  classical 
studies,  and  cultivated  a  taste  for  general  literature,  which  he  has 
fondly  cherished  throughout  a  long  and  laborious  professional  career. 

In  1801  he  became  a  student-at-law  in  the  office  of  Hon.  Abijah 
Bigelow,  of  Leominster,  and  continued  with  him  for  three  years,  and 
was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  Worcester  county,  Mass.,  in  September, 
1804.  He  soon  afterwards  removed  to  Waterville,  on  the  Kennebec 
river,  and  opened  an  office,  where  he  has  ever  since  resided.  This 
was,  at  that  time,  a  small  village,  and  afforded  but  little  business  for  a 
lawyer,  but  was  rapidly  increasing  in  population,  and  there  was  a 
number  of  flourishing  towns  on  the  rivers  above  his  location.  In  a 
few  years  his  talents,  legal  knowledge,  industry  and  integrity,  being 
known  and  appreciated,  he  found  himself  possessed  of  an  extensive 
and  lucrative  practice  ;  and  in  January,  1811,  he  was  married  to  Helen, 
daughter  of  Judge  Rogers,  of  Exeter,  New-Hampshire. 

In  1815  he  was  a  member  of  the  Electoral  College  of  Massachusetts, 
for  the  choice  of  President  and  Vice-President. 

In  1809  the  county  of  Somerset  was  organized,  with  Norridgewock 
for  its  shire  town  ;  and  having  become  a  prominent  member  of  the 
Kennebec  bar,  and  a  leading  advocate  in  that  section  of  the  country, 
Mr.  Boutelle  attended  regularly  five  terms  of  the  courts  for  the  trials  of 
actions  In  each  of  these  counties  annually,  and  was  occasionally  called 


42  SKETCHES  OF   EMINENT  AMERICANS. 

into  more  distant  portions  of  the  state  on  professional  duty  ;  and  it  is 
believed  by  the  writer  of  this  sketcli  that  his  business,  as  a  collecting 
lawyer  and  advocate  combined,  was  more  extensive  during  the  entire 
period  of  his  practice  than  that  of  any  other  member  of  the  Kennebec 
bar,  unequaled  as  it  was  by  any  other  county  in  Maine,  except  per- 
haps Cumberland,  for  its  strength,  learning  and  professional  ability. 
As  an  advocate  he  was  eminently  successful,  at  the  same  time  faithful 
to  his  client,  and  honorable  in  his  treatment  of  opposing  counsel.  Pos- 
sessed of  a  mind  acute  and  comprehensive,  well  stored  with  legal 
principles,  and  with  sound  judgment  in  their  application,  he  was  alw^ays 
industrious  in  the  preparation  of  his  causes.  If,  in  the  progress  of  a  trial, 
his  opponent  made  or  left  a  weak  point  in  law  or  fact,  his  eagle  eye  at 
once  discovered,  and  his  ready  tact  made  it  most  available  in  promo- 
ting the  interests  entrusted  to  his  care.  In  the  examination  of  wit- 
nesses he  was  fair  and  just,  yet  shrewd  and  skilful,  scorning  those  petty 
arts  sometimes  practised  by  corrupt  counsel  to  entrap  and  entangle 
an  honest  witness  whose  testimony  bears  against  them  ;  but  if  he  dis- 
covered a  disposition  to  keep  back  or  pervert  the  truth  on  the  stand, 
the  man  must  be  ingenious  indeed  who  could  leave  it  without  having 
lost,  under  his  searching  cross-examination,  all  character  for  truth 
and  veracity  before  the  adjudging  tribunal. 

In  addressing  the  court  or  jury  he  did  not  aim  at  mere  oratorical 
display.  His  manner  was  earnest,  energetic,  forcible  ;  his  arg-uments 
were  clear,  logical,  conclusive,  and  his  object  manifestly  was  to  serve 
his  client  with  the  utmost  fidelity  rather  than  to  exhibit  himself  and 
gain  applause.  He  uniformly  had  the  respect  and  confidence  of  the 
court  as  a  sound  and  able  lawyer,  and  was  influential  with  the  jury 
because  he  presented  his  views  with  clearness  and  force,  and  appeared 
before  them  with  the  moral  power  of  an  honest  man. 

In  1819  he  was  among  the  prominent  advocates  of  the  separation  of 
Maine  from  Massachusetts,  and  its  erection  into  an  independent  state. 
This  was  accomplished  in  1820,  when  he  was  elected  to  the  senate 
for  the  county  of  Kennebec,  for  the  two  sessions  of  1820  and  1821. 
As  the  new  state  had  to  be  organized,  and  the  statute  laws  of  Massa- 
chusetts revised  and  adapted  to  the  wants  of  the  people  by  this  legis- 
lature, the  services  of  all  the  members  who  had  any  tact  or  talent  at 
drafting  bills,  were  severely  taxed.  The  active  and  industrious  habits 
of  Mr.  Boutelle,  as  well  as  his  reputation  for  strong  common  sense 
and  legal  learning,  threw  on  him  a  great  amount  of  labor  and  responsi- 
bility, especially  in  framing  laws  relating  to  land  titles  and  real  actions. 
Between  this  time  and  1841  he  was  a  member  of  the  legislature 
twelve  years,  six  each  of  the  senate  and  house  of  representatives ; 
invariably  upon,  and  often  chairman  of  the  judiciary  committee,  the 
most  important  joint  standing  committee  of  the  two  branches  of  the 
legislature.  Throughout  his  legislative  career  he  was  a  prominent 
leading  member.  Well  acquainted  with  history  and  the  science  of  gov- 
ernment, his  influence  upon  legislation  was  eminently  conservative, 
and  exerted  as  well  to  prevent  the  passage  of  laws  of  doubtful  utility,  as 
to  aid  the  enactment  of  such  as  would  develop  the  resources  and  pro- 
mote the  prosperity  of  the  static.  He  was  a  ready,  influential  debater, 
and  although  he  was  governed  by  the  wise  rule,  "  never  to  speak  uu- 


TIMOTHY  BOUTELLE,  OF  MAINE.  43 

less  he  had  something  to  say,  and  always  to  stop  when  he  had  said 
it,"  yet  he  took  an  active  part  in  the  discussions  of  the  day,  and  his 
political  history  is  plainly  written  in  the  record  of  debates  and  on  the 
journals  of  the  respective  branches  of  the  legislature  of  the  state. 

But  in  the  midst  of  his  various  duties  as  a  lawyer  and  legislator, 
he  did  not  forget  his  obligations  as  a  citizen,  nor  omit  any  opportunity 
to  promote  the  welfare  of  the  community  in  which  he  dwelt.  In 
1814  he  procured  a  charter  for  the  first  bank  established  in  Water- 
ville,  of  which  he  has  uniformly  been  a  director,  and  for  the  last 
twenty  years  the  president.  In  1820,  while  a  member  of  the  senate, 
he  was  mainly  instrumental  in  obtaining  the  charter  for  Waterville 
College,  and  he  has  taken  from  that  time  a  prominent  and  leading  part 
in  the  board  of  trustees.  This  institution  of  learning,  though  qualified 
by  the  constitution  to  receive  grants,  has  been  very  sparingly  endowed 
by  the  state.  It  has  been  left  to  depend  principally  on  private  benefi- 
cence for  support  ;  but  it  has  commended  itself  to  public  favor,  has 
always  maintained  as  high  a  standard  of  education  as  other  New-En- 
gland colleges,  and  is  now  in  a  flourishing  condition,  with  between  eighty 
and  ninety  students,  and  a  learned,  able  board  of  government  and 
instruction.  In  1839  this  college  conferred  upon  Mr.  Boutelle  the  hon- 
orary degree  of  LL.  D. 

In  1847  he  was  one  of  the  most  active  and  efficient  projectors  of  the 
Androscoggin  and  Kennebec  Rail-road,  commencing  in  Danville  at 
the  junction  with  the  Atlantic  and  St.  Lawrence  Rail-road,  twenty- 
seven  miles  from  the  city  of  Portland,  and  terminating  in  Waterville, 
a  distance  of  fifty-five  miles. 

At  the  organization  of  the  company  he  was  elected  a  director  and 
president  of  the  board,  which  office  he  continued  to  hold  for  three 
years,  and  then  voluntarily  retired.  During  this  time  the  road  was 
built  and  opened  to  Waterville,  under  a  continued  and  severe  pressure 
of  the  money  market,  and  encountering  other  adverse  influences,  which 
required,  on  the  part  of  the  board  of  directors,  financial  skill  and 
energy  of  no  ordinary  character  to  prevent  an  entire  failure  of  the 
enterprise,  the  success  of  which  was  deemed  highly  important  to  that 
section  of  the  state. 

In  1844,  having  pursued  his  profession  with  untiring  industry  and 
eminent  success  for  forty  years,  he  ceased  to  attend  courts  and  left 
the  practice  of  law.  Since  that  time,  with  the  exception  of  the  period 
devoted  to  the  prosecution  of  the  rail-road  enterprise  already  referred 
to,  he  has  passed  the  most  of  his  time  in  the  enjoyment  of  home, 
cheering  the  desolate  hours  of  his  estimable  and  beloved  wife,  who  has 
been  confined  by  severe  sickness  for  some  years  past ;  by  social  con- 
versation, and  in  reading  the  best  periodicals  and  general  literature  of 
the  day — a  private  employment,  the  pleasure  of  which  he  would  not  be 
denied  even  when  most  engrossed  in  the  active  duties  of  professional 
life.  But  the  force  of  habit  is  strikingly  illustrated  in  the  fact,  that 
he  visits  every  day  the  office  in  which  he  passed  so  many  years  of 
honorable  toil,  and  not  unfrequently  spends  many  hours  in  conversa- 
tion with,  and  giving  gratuitous  advice  to  his  old  clients,  with  whom 
his  opinion  is  the  law. 

He  is  a  firm  believer  in  the  Christian  religion,  regularly  attends  pub- 


44  SKETCHES  OF  EMINENT  AMERICANS. 

lie  worship,  is  a  strict  observer  of  the  Sabbath,  and  contributes  liberal- 
ly towards  the  support  of  the  gospel.  In  the  cause  of  education,  tem- 
perance, and  the  various  moral  movements  for  improving  the  condition 
of  society,  he  has  always  taken  a  deep  and  active  interest,  and  has 
been  a  reliable  friend  of  good  order  and  sound  morals  in  the  commu- 
nity. 

His  disposition  is  social.  He  possesses  a  rich  fund  of  anecdote 
and  information,  and  being  fond  of  a  good  joke  and  lively  repartee,  he 
is  an  exceedingly  interesting  and  instructive  companion  and  friend. 

Such  is  a  brief  sketch  of  the  life,  with  some  of  the  characteristics, 
of  one  of  the  most  esteemed  citizens  of  Maine.  He  is  now  in  the  en- 
joyment of  a  "  gTeen  old  age."  Long  may  his  life  be  spared,  and  his 
example  continue  to  exert  a  salutary  influence  upon  the  aspirants  for 
honorable  fame,  by  inducing  them  to  practise  his  virtues  if  they  would 
acquire  his  reputation  ! 


•E-'^ra, 


•^■lyJCButm.  ftom  a.Da&> 


.UBHeo^' 


^A^^^Jt^^^-^^ 


JOSEPH   HAVEN  SMITH,  OF  NEW-HAMPSHIRE  45 

JOSEPH    HAVEN    SMITH, 

OF   DOVER,  NEW-HAMPSHIRE. 

In  contemplating  the  character  of  eminent  individuals  who  have 
exercised  controlling  sway  over  community  generally,  and  won  for 
themselves  a  high  position  in  the  annals  of  the  world,  there  are  two 
classes,  which,  in  the  nature  of  things,  must  stand  peculiarly  promi- 
nent. Greatly  dissimilar  in  their  aims  and  tendencies,  each  exerts  a 
mighty  influence  ;  and,  in  its  own  way,  arrests  attention  and  wins 
applause.  Each  may  justly  claim  respect,  admiration  and  honor,  from 
the  community,  though  the  ground  on  which  public  approval  will  rest 
must  be  as  dissimilar  as  the  motives  that  impel  them,  or  the  course 
they  pursue.  The  one  earns  his  reputation  in  a  single  line  of  duty 
by  bringing  all  the  energies  of  his  soul  to  bear  on  a  given  object — by 
the  accomplishment  of  some  great  or  dazzling  exploit — ^by  striking  out 
some  new  view  of  thought — by  compassing  some  great  and  useful 
invention,  or  by  opening  some  new  avenue  to  the  temple  of  science. 
Thus,  the  military  hero  may  be  remarkable  for  his  skill  in  marshaling 
an  army,  for  his  bravery  in  battle,  and  for  the  vastness  of  his  military 
achievements  ;  while,  away  from  his  peculiar  calling,  he  may  be 
enabled  to  manifest  no  more  than  ordinary  powers  of  mind  ;  though 
successful  in  his  one  pursuit,  he  has  placed  his  name  conspicuously 
before  the  world  ;  and  will  go  down  on  the  page  of  history  Saul-like  in 
his  altitude.  So  Wellington  lives,  and  will  live  to  after  times,  solely  on 
the  fame  of  battles  long  since  fought ;  and  even  the  greenest  leaf  in 
the  laurel-wreath  which  adorns  his  brow  borrows  its  freshness  from 
a  single  battle,  where  doubt  for  a  long  time  held  the  scale  ;  and  a 
stroke  of  fortune,  by  no  means  dependent  on  the  skill  or  prowess  of 
the  hero,  decided  the  contest  in  his  favor  !  So  Harvey  lives  on  the 
reputation  mainly  of  his  discovery  of  the  circulation  of  the  blood  in 
the  living  system  ;  and  he  will  continue  to  live  in  the  power  of  this 
thought  while  medical  science  has  a  name.  And  yet,  aside  from  this 
wonderful  discovery,  there  may  have  been  nothing  in  the  life  of  Har- 
vey which  should  have  entitled  him  to  a  higher  niche  in  the  temple  of 
fame  than  hundreds  of  his  cotemporaries  in  his  profession,  who, 
though  skilful  in  their  calling,  and  useful  in  their  day,  died  out  from 
the  remembrance  of  men,  with  the  close  of  the  age  in  which  they 
lived  So  Fulton,  up  to  the  very  hour  when  he  demonstrated  the 
greatness  of  his  invention,  in  applying  the  power  of  steam,  had 
lived  entirely  unknown  to  fame.  And  when  he  ventured  to  suggest 
the  idea  of  accomplishing  his  own  great  purpose,  he  was  jeered  at  as 
a  visionary  dreamer  !  Yet  his  dreamings  proved  reality.  His  experi- 
ment was  successful,  his  inventive  genius  triumphed  !  and  on  the 
wings  of  this  one  great  thought  will  the  name  of  Fulton  go  wherever 
rivers  wind  their  courses  to  the  ocean,  or  clime  seeks  intercommvmion 
with  clime,  however  distant,  by  rapidly  spanning  the  almost  boundless 
expanse  of  seas.  So,  too,  will  the  name  of  Colburn  live  in  the  light 
which  his  genius  has  shed  upon  the  abstruse  and  difficult  science 


46  SKETCHES  OF  EMINENT  AMERICANS. 

of  mathematics,  making  the  ascent  of  the  pupil  through  the  intricate 
winding  of  the  great  subject  plain,  safe  and  pleasant. 

These  all,  it  will  be  seen,  whatever  their  other  attainments  or  pos- 
sessions might  be,  have  won  their  title  to  distinction  by  the  pursuit  of 
a  single  object,  and  the  attainment  of  a  single  end.  We  would  not 
disparage  their  exaltation,  nor  reverse  the  judgment  which  the  world 
has  passed  upon  their  attainments.  But  there  is  another  class  of 
minds  which,  if  not  so  fortunately  constituted  for  startling  the  world, 
or  living  in  the  blazonry  of  fame,  must  be  regarded  at  least  as  happily 
constituted  for  imparting  a  needed  and  a  salutary  influence  to  the 
world  ;  and  as  clearly  entitled  to  the  meed  of  approbation  and  of 
honor.  We  mean  that  class  whose  well-balanced  and  active  minds 
render  them  qualified  for  all  the  duties  of  every-day  life,  and  enable 
them  to  pour  a  constant  current  of  benefaction,  noiseless,  because  deep, 
on  the  lives  and  affairs  of  men.  All  the  elements  of  true  greatness 
may  be  combined  in  men  of  this  class,  and  may  exert  their  power  for 
good  on  the  world  around  ;  and  yet,  from  their  very  greatness,  having 
no  one  excellence  so  to  stand  out  as  to  eclipse  the  brightness  of  others, 
they  may  attract  less  attention,  and  may  have  less  power  to  concen- 
trate the  public  gaze.  Posterity  may  not  know  them  by  the  records  of 
the  past,  but  it  will  feel  and  rejoice  in  the  power  which  they  have 
exerted  in  the  advancement  of  all  the  great  interests  of  individual, 
social  and  public  life — ^the  great  cause  of  patriotism,  of  humanity  and 
of  God ! 

The  sun,  shining  steadily  in  the  heavens,  diff'using  its  genial  light 
and  heat  everywhere,  arrests  less  the  attention  of  the  astronomer  and 
of  the  unlearned  mind  than  the  more  dim  and  distant  planet,  the  erratic 
comet,  or  the  flashing  meteor.  Yet  who  deems  its  influence  other  than 
greater  than  they  all  ? 

Now,  in  speaking  of  the  first  class  of  minds — in  setting  forth  their 
claims  to  public  admiration  and  honor,  all  eulogium  has  seemed  tame 
and  powerless  ;  the  loftiest  flights  of  eloquence,  in  uttering  their  praise, 
and  the  brightest  glow  of  genius  in  wearing  the  poetic  garland  as  a 
.  crown  for  their  fame,  have  all  been  eclipsed  in  the  brightness  of  the 
glory  that  has  attached  to  their  names,  in  the  estimation  of  a  wonder- 
ing world.  While,  to  delineate  truly  the  real  and  every-day  charac- 
ter of  the  other  class — to  set  forth  their  just  claims  to  public  gratitude 
and  honor,  in  the  sober  language  of  truth  in  its  simplest  garb,  would, 
to  many  minds,  appear  as  overwrought  eulogy  and  panegyristic 
exaggeration ! 

In  the  records  of  the  latter  class,  however,  we  are  happy  to  place 
the  Hon.  Joseph  Haven  Smith,  the  subject  of  this  brief  sketch,  and 
this  we  do  with  the  frank  avowal  that  it  is  written  by  a  friendly  hand, 
and  dictated  by  a  mind  which  has  enjoyed  full  opportunity  for  a  care- 
ful study  of  the  subject,  and  which  hesitates  not  at  the  confession  of 
profound  respect  and  honor  for  the  character  of  the  man.  But  it  is 
written,  at  the  same  time,  by  one  who  claims  that  no  line  of  praise 
shall  be  penned  which  the  life  of  the  subject  shall  not  fully  justify. 

The  ancestors  of  Mr.  Smith  were  among  the  earliest  settlers  of 
New-Hampshire,  and  were  of  the  hardy  and  enterprising  spirits  than 
which  none  other  could  undertake  so  formidable  a  task.     Those  who 


JOSEPH   HAVEN   SMITH,  OF  NEW-HAMPSHIRE.  47 

have  neither  participated  in  the  labor  indispensably  incident  to  the 
settlement  of  a  new  country,  in  a  wilderness,  nor  received  the  details 
from  those  who  have  been  actually  engaged  in  such  a  work,  can 
scarcely  realize  the  hardships  and  privations  which  are  coacomitant 
with  such  an  enterprise.  And  the  work  itself,  whether  the  settlers  go 
out  voluntarily  from  places  of  comparative  ease  and  comfort,  or  are 
driven  by  force  of  circumstances  to  avoid  evil,  or  to  attempt  the  better- 
ment of  their  condition,  indicates  a  phase  of  mind  cast  in  the  mould  of 
strength,  resolution  and  enterprise. 

The  ease-loving,  the  weak-minded  and  the  vacillating,  are  not  the 
men  to  grapple  with  the  sturdy  force  of  the  primeval  forest,  the  toil, 
the  danger,  and  the  almost  certain  privation  which  must  necessarily 
attend  its  subjugation,  and  the  rearing  of  another  world-community  on 
its  fall  ;  but  they  alone  who  possess  the  stronger,  the  sterner  and 
indomitable  energies  of  manhood,  will  enter  on  so  formidable  an  under- 
taking. And  hence,  doubtless,  it  is,  that  if  we  look  back  to  the  but 
recent  settlement  of  the  American  colonies,  and  contemphre  the 
peculiar  circumstances  that  impelled  the  settlement,  we  shall  find  that 
the  great  work  was  undertaken  by  minds  of  no  ordinary  cast,  and  fitted 
by  nature,  as  none  but  the  strongest  minds  could  be,  for  what  they 
knew  they  must  undergo.  There  is  heroism  in  the  underiaking  and 
prosecution  of  such  a  labor  which  no  battle-field  could  ever  display ; 
because,  while  on  the  latter,  the  combatant  may  be  impelled  and  sus- 
tained by  excited  passion — the  very  strife,  and  roar,  and  confusion,  in 
which  he  is  engaged,  or  the  thought  that,  at  all  events  the  struggle 
must  be  brief,  and  the  mind  in  some  way  relieved  of  the  burden  of  its 
anxiety — the  other  can  only  look  forward  to  a  life  of  toiling,  to  scenes 
of  continued  danger,  and  to  hardships  in  every  shape  which  have 
the  power  to  "  try  men's  souls."  To  such  minds,  and  their  more  im- 
mediate descendants,  it  is  rational,  therefore,  to  look  for  the  manifesta- 
tion of  the  loftier  qualities  of  the  soul.  In  these  qualities,  at  all 
events,  the  ancestry  of  Mr.  Smith  largely  participated,  and  the 
descendant  is  fortunate  in  the  transmission. 

The  grandfather  of  our  subject,  Elias  Smith,  was  born  in  Epping, 
N.  H.,  but,  in  early  life,  removed  to  Moultonborough.  A  single  inci- 
dent, connected  with  his  life,  will  serve  to  show  the  sacrifices  demand- 
ed in  the  settlement  of  a  new  region,  and  also  the  patient  ener^j^y  with 
which  they  could  be  met.  It  may  also  serve  to  show  how  poverty 
was  there  present,  and  how  that  "  rugged  nurse  of  virtue "  could 
manifest  its  utility  to  the  world  in  developing  the  stronger  and  better 
qualities  of  our  nature.  In  a  time  of  great  scarcity  of  provisions,  and 
particularly  of  bread-stuffs,  Mr.  Smith  was  compelled  to  travel  for  the 
latter  to  Exeter,  where  he  procured  haif  a  bushel  of  Indian  corn,  and 
bore  it  on  his  shoulder,  traveling  on  foot,  as  he  had  the  downw  u'd  jour- 
ney, through  a  dense  and  almost  pathless  wilderness,  back  to  Moulton- 
borough, a  distance  of  nearly  seventy  miles  ! 

Here  John  Smith,  the  father  of  Joseph  H.,  was  born  and  reared  to 
a  mechanical  calling;  and  on  arriving  at  a  suitable  age,  he  married 
Betsey  Roberts,  of  the  same  place,  and  removed  to  Rochester  as  early 
as  1796,  where,  by  untiring  industry,  aided  by  his  excellent  companion, 
he  reared  a  large  family  of  children — six  sons  and  three  daughters — 


48  SKETCHES  OF  EMINENT  AMERICANS. 

the  subject  of  our  sketch  and  two  brothers,  residents  in  Dover,  being 
-all  the  members  of  the  family  that  survive. 

The  father  was  through  life  an  industrious,  hard-working  mechanic, 
possessed  of  strong  native  powers  of  mind,  flexible  in  their  manifesta- 
tion and  prompt  in  response  to  any  of  the  emergencies  of  life.  De- 
liberate in  the  formation  of  opinions,  detecting,  with  a  keen  intuitive 
sagacity,  whatever  was  fallacious  ;  prudent  in  the  choice  of  motive- 
principles,  and  proverbially  an  honest  man,  while  he  manifested'  the 
utmost  independence  of  mind'  in  the  choice  and  maintenance  of  both 
religious  and  political  principles,  he  still  lived  in  the  confidence  and 
respect  of  community,  and  those  who  knew  him  the  most  intimately 
yielded  the  largest  homage  and  respect.  Through  life  he  manifested 
an  inquiring  and  investigating  spirit,  and,  gifted  with  strong  and  happy 
conversational  powers,  he  was  not  only  fond  of  receiving  but  of  inter- 
changing thought ;  and  his  society  was  therefore  sought,  and  he  was 
always  listened  to  with  interest  and  profit.  Whatever  opinions  he 
formed,  after  proper  investigation,  became  incorporated  with  his  being, 
and  were  regarded  with  sacredness  for  the  sway  which  they  confessedly 
held  over  the  life. 

The  mother  was  a  woman  remarkable  for  her  domestic  and  stern 
republican  virtues,  caring  always  for  her  household  with  true  maternal 
anxiety  and  tenderness,  and  cherishing  to  the  last,  with  the  most 
sacred  regard,  the  memory  of  the  Revolutionary  patriots,  by  whose 
herculean  labors  an  independent  nation  was  founded,  and  a  new  republic 
given  to  freedom  and  to  fame.  She  was  herself  remotely  connected 
by  consanguinity  with  the  immortal  Warren,  who  fell  on  Bunker  Hill, 
and  partook  largely  of  those  strong  and  sterling  qualities  of  mind 
which  characterized  the  women  as  well  as  the  men  of  the  Revolutionary 
era. 

Of  the  boyhood  life  of  their  son  Joseph,  the  youngest  of  the  six 
sons,  it  is  only  necessary  to  say  that  it  was  early  characterized  by  a 
thirst  for  knowledge,  which  grew  continually  as  avenues  to  its  gratifica- 
tion opened  up  before  him.  With  a  constitution  at  that  time  not 
remarkably  strong,  the  striving  of  the  intellectual  powers  for  develop- 
ment often  overmastered  the  strength  of  the  physical  frame,  and 
would  have  discouraged  any  but  the  most  ardent  and  persevering  mind. 
For  his  education,  however,  no  college-halls  held  out  their  attractive 
allurements,  and  although  always  a  matter  of  regret  to  him,  he  was 
compelled  by  circumstances  to  forego  the  advantages  they  have  the 
power  to  impart.  For  what,  therefore,  of  education  he  possesses,  and 
it  is  of  an  ample  and  the  most  practical  kind,  he  is  indebted  to  the  free 
common  schools  of  the  state  and  his  own  exertions,  stimulated  and 
encouraged  by  the  unwearied  efforts  of  his  parents,  and  especially  of 
his  eldest  sister,  Arabella  Smith,  whose  kind  and  unceasing  interest 
was  ever  manifested  for  him  with  true  sisterly  affection,  and  was 
received  and  is  cherished  on  his  part  with  all  the  warm  and  grateful 
feelings  of  a  brother's  heart !  This  lady  early  became  a  teacher  of 
youth,  as  a  calling  of  her  choice,  and  spent  her  life  in  that  vocation, 
and  at  length  died  in  Canandaigua,  N.  Y.,  a  principal,  for  many  years, 
of  the  "  Ontario  Female  Seminary"  in  that  place.  It  is  pleasant  to 
reflect  on  the  noble  monument  to  her  faithfulness  which  that  sister  was 


JOSEPH  HAVEN  SMITH,  OF  NEW-HAMPSHIRE.  49 

unconsciously  rearing  while  developing  her  soul  in  filial  affection  and 
care  for  those  whom  duty  and  inclination  prompted  her  to  aid.  Nor 
should  it  ever  be  forgotten  by  man,  how,  even  under  the  most  unpro- 
mising and  apparently  hopeless  circumstances  of  life,  a  kind  and 
encouraging  word  spoken  has  been  instrumental  in  bringing  into  action 
and  stimulating  those  powers  which,  manifested  under  proper  discipline, 
prove  a  benefaction  to  mankind  !  It  is  pleasant,  also,  to  know  that  a 
fidelity  to  duty  thus  revealed  still  holds  and  will  always  hold  a  warm 
place  in  an  appreciating  brother's  heart.  '  It  is  proper  that,  on  a  subject 
like  this,  a  brother  should  be  permitted  to  speak  for  himself.  The 
following,  therefore,  is  presented  from  a  communication  of  his  pen, 
which  is  now  before  the  writer  of  this  sketch.  It  speaks  of  and  from 
affections  of  the  soul,  for  which  we  have  reason  to  bless  God  for  the 
implanting,  and  presents  a  sister  before  the  world  in  a  light  which 
challenges  admiration,  such  as  heroes  on  the  battle-field  have  seldom 
won  :  "  Speaking  of  her,''  he  says,  "  I  cannot  but  cherish  her  memory 
with  the  most  sacred  regard ;  as,  for  what  I  am,  so  far  as  education  is 
concerned,  I  owe  much  to  her  for  the  interest  she  took  in  my  earliest 
years.  She  was  a  noble  specimen  of  what  an  elder  sister  should 
be,  living  not  for  herself,  but  for  those  she  loved.  And  while  aiding, 
to  the  utmost  of  her  abilities,  her  parents,  in  sustaining  the  family 
circle  and  smoothing  the  pathway  of  their  declining  years,  she  was, 
at  the  same  time,  constant  and  unremitting  in  her  exertions  to  impart 
an  education  to  her  younger  brothers  and  sisters.  No  eulogium 
therefore  can  be  paid  to  the  character  of  one,  under  these  circum- 
stances, of  which  she  is  not  deserving." 

The  village  school  in  Rochester,  where  young  Smith  received  the 
rudiments  of  his  education,  fortunately  for  him  and  others,  was  far  in 
advance  of  schools  of  that  kind  in  that  region  of  the  state,  employing 
teachers  liberally  educated,  and  fitting  all  those  who  wished  to  enter 
college.  And  in  this  respect  it  is  matter  of  regret  to  say,  that  the 
school  was  much  in  advance  of  what  they  generally  are  at  the  present 
day,  with  all  our  increased  facilities  of  wealth  and  resource.  Having 
graduated  from  the  New-England  "  poor-boys'  college"  at  the  early  age 
of  eighteen  years,  Mr.  Smith  commenced  the  teaching  of  a  common 
district  school,  and  at  the  age  of  nineteen  years,  he  commenced  the 
study  of  medicine,  under  the  direction  of  James  Farrington,  M.  D.,  a 
distinguished  physician  practising  his  profession  in  Rochester.  Mr. 
Smith  also  followed  his  vocation  as  school-teacher  during  the  time  of 
his  medical  pupilage,  which  continued  five  years,  when  he  graduated 
at  the  medical  college  in  Brunswick,  Maine,  in  1829.  In  the  same 
year,  he  began  the  practice  of  medicine  in  his  native  town,  Rochester, 
and  continued  there  with  good  success  until  1832.  Here,  also,  in 
1830,  he  was  married  to  Meribah  Hanson,  a  native  of  Rochester, 
with  whom  he  still  lives  in  the  enjoyment  of  all  the  blessings  of 
domestic  life.  The  fruits  of  this  marriage  have  been  five  children, 
four  of  whom  are  now  living. 

In  1832,  Dr.  Smith  removed  to  Dover,  N.  H.,  where  he  now 
resides,  still  in  the  practice  of  his  profession,  in  which  he  has  been 
eminently  successful.  He  has  been  called  to  fill  the  highest  offices  in 
the.  N.  H.   District  Medical  Society,  and  also  in  the  N.  H.  (State) 

VOL.  III.  4 


50  SKETCHES  OF  EMINENT  AMERICANS. 

Medical  Society.  He  has  likewise  had  the  honor  of  being  appointed 
delegate  from  the  state  soc'ety  to  the  medical  college  in  Hanover,  and 
delivered  the  annual  address  before  the  graduating  class,  in  the  year 
1848.  He  has  constantly  manifested  a  deep  interest  in  the  advance- 
ment of  medical  science,  and  has  ever  encouraged,  by  example  as  well 
as  precept,  all  medical  societies  and  schools  designed  to  promote  its 
interests.  In  the  practice  of  his  profession.  Dr.  Smith  has  brought  to 
bear  the  qualities  of  a  well-stored  judgment,  and,  as  a  medical  adviser, 
he  has  been  surpassed  by  few,  if  any,  in  the  state.  The  strongest 
feature,  perhaps,  in  his  practice,  and  the  best  guaranty  of  his  useful- 
ness, has  been  the  constant  manifestation  of  a  spirit  of  calm  and  delibe- 
rate prudence  in  scanning  the  condition  of  his  patients,  which  seeks  as 
earnestly  to  know  when  to  withhold  medicine,  as  when  to  impart  it. 
No  rash,  adventurous,  or  unstudied  thoughts  are  indulged  by  him 
within  the  clinic  range.  He  therefore  enjoys  not  only  the  confidence, 
but  the  respect  of  those  who  are  within  the  field  of  his  labors. 

We  may  as  well  here  state,  that  the  subject  of  our  remarks  is  so 
constituted,  mentally,  that,  by  those  who  knew,  and  could  avail  them- 
selves of  the  advantage  of  his  labors,  he  has  not  been  permitted  to 
spend  his  time  and  talents  in  a  single  line  of  duty,  but  he  has,  unsought 
and  unsolicited  on  his  part,  been  called  to  fill  various  posts  of  honor 
and  distinction  in  the  gift  of  the  community.  In  all  these  positions  of 
elevation  he  has  displayed  that  sagacity,  prudence  and  Ibrecast  vi^hich 
have  rendered  him  eminently  successful.  In  his  mental  structure  he  is 
admirably  fitted  for  all  work,  having  much  more  than  ordinary  ver- 
satility of  talent  ;  and  his  modes  of  thought  and  habitudes  of  mental 
discipline  have  been  such  as  to  qualify  him  for  a  great  variety  of  labor, 
without  confusion,  neglect,  or  seeming  weariness  to  himself. 

Self-culture  has  evidently  been  with  Dr.  Smith  a  life-labor  ;  and  no 
one  acquainted  with  him  has  ever  supposed  that  he  deemed  his  educa- 
tion completed  when  he  received  his  medical  diploma  ;  or  that  the 
whole  labor  of  a  life  should  be  exclusively  bestowed  upon  the  sick,  in 
the  way  of  medical  advisement. 

A  phrenologist  would,  at  a  glance,  characterize  him  as  of  ardent 
temperament,  with  strongly-developed  perceptive  and  reflective  pow- 
ers, constituting  an  intellect  of  the  highest  order,  as  well  as  possessing 
those  powers  of  active  propulsion,  which,  combining,  constitute  the 
intelligent  and  sagacious  business  man.  Hence,  few  men  have  had 
more  numerous  calls  on  their  time  and  attention,  in  the  different 
departments  of  human  duty,  and  few  indeed  could  acquit  themselves  of 
all  more  honorably  or  more  usefully  than  he  has  done.  Each  new 
field  of  labor  that  has  opened  to  his  gaze  has  seemed  to  act  but  as  a 
spur  to  that  self-preparation  which  would  qualify  him  successfully  to 
meet  it ;  and  when  the  demand  was  made  he  never  was  taken  by  sur- 
prise. With  him,  the  cause  of  general  education  has  always  been  a 
subject  near  to  his  heart,  and  with  which,  in  his  native  state,  it  is 
believed  that  there  has  been  no  moment  of  his  life,  since  he  com- 
menced the  duties  of  a  village  school-teacher,  when  his  name  has  not 
been  actively  connected  with  the  cause  by  the  sustaining  of  some  offi- 
cial trust.  Many,  indeed,  know  oftentimes  how  thankless,  for  the 
present,  is  the  task  of  laboring  for  the  establishment,  or  betterment,  of 


JOSEPH   HAVP:N   smith,  of   NEW-HAMPSHIRE.  51 

the  condition  of  schools,  when  selfishness  interposes  the  consideration 
of  pecuniary  outlay  as  an  objection  ;  and  great  is  the  fortitude,  and 
large  the  patience  requisite  to  meet  the  difficulties  that  thus  are  made 
to  hedge  up  the  way  of  those  who  would  stimulate  the  connnunity  to 
confer  blessings  on  itself.  But  difficulties  of  this  character  have  only 
awakened  in  the  mind  of  Dr.  Smith  a  livelier  sense  of  the  necessity 
of  their  being  overcome.  And,  in  the  cause  of  education,  in  the  town 
of  his  adoption,  it  is  perfectly  safe  to  say,  that  no  man  has  been  more 
ready,  more  active,  or  more  self-sacrificing  than  he.  His  course  in 
this  direction  has  doubtless  been  influenced  by  his  appreciation  of  the 
importance  of  education  as  a  means  of  his  own  success,  and  by  the 
encouraging  and  inspiring  influences  which  were  thrown  around  his 
mind  in  early  life,  in  the  way  to  which  we  have  already  adverted. 

From  his  earliest  childhood,  the  subject  of  our  notice  received  from 
the  lip  and  heart  of  parental  solicitude  those  lessons  of  patriotism  and 
republican  simplicity  which  lead  to  a  just  appreciation  of  the  blessings 
which  Heaven  has  bestowed  upon  our  beloved  country,  in  the  gift  of 
the  free  institutions  we  enjoy,  and  which  ever  exerted  a  controlling 
influence  over  his  early  life.  His  parents,  and  their  fathers  before 
them,  living  near  to,  and  in  the  exciting  scenes  of  the  Revolutionary 
struggle,  spared  no  pains  to  instill  early  into  the  minds  of  their 
children  that  love  of  freedom  and  their  country  which  ever  after 
attached  them  ardently  to  the  democratic  cause.  As  his  father  before 
him,  so  Dr.  Smith  has  always  practised  on  the  principle  of  avowing 
fraidvly  and  maintaining  boldly  any  opinion  or  principle  he  may  have 
cherished  ;  and,  deeming  correct  political  principle  as  scarcely  second 
in  importance  to  any  other,  he  has  been  always  earnest,  persevering 
and  straight-forward  in  sustaining  the  democratic  party  of  his  country. 
By  that  party  he  has  been  repeatedly  called  to  fill  important  official 
stations,  and  always  to  the  entire  acceptance  of  those  who  have 
clothed  him  with  political  trust.  In  the  town  where  he  resides,  the 
party  opposed  to  democratic  principles  has,  for  many  years,  been 
strongly  in  the  ascendant,  yet,  in  1837,  he  was  elected  representative 
from  Dover  to  the  state  legislature.  In  the  years  1844  and  1845, 
respectively,  he  was  elected  to  the  state  senate  from  district  No.  V. 
In  1848  he  was  chosen  one  of  the  presidential  electors  who  gave  the 
vote  of  New-Hampshire  for  Lewis  Cass  as  President  of  the  United 
States.  In  1851  and  1852  he  was  elected  a  member  of  the  governor's 
council,  which  office  he  holds  at  the  present  time.  In  the  discharge 
of  political  duty  no  one  has  been  more  assiduous  or  faitliful  ;  and  no 
one  could  wear  the  honors  conferred  upon  him  more  deservedly  or 
unostentatiously.  But,  for  his  own  determined  resistance,  doubtless 
he  would  have  been,  ere  this,  called  to  a  position  of  higher  trust  and 
distinction  ;  and  now,  in  the  early  prime  of  manhood  and  the  vigor  of 
his  powers  fully  developed,  with  talents  and  fidelity  justly  appreciated, 
it  requires  no  prophetic  vision  to  predict  for  him  still  further  elevation, 
unless,  yielding  to  his  own  wishes,  the  public  shall  relinquish  claim  to 
his  labors. 

From  the  foregoing  it  will  be  seen  that  our  subject  must  of  necessity 
lead  a  life  of  great  activity.  Still,  the  facts  stated,  embrace  but  a  part 
of  the  claims  which  are  made  on  his  time  and  attention.     Dr.  Smith 


52  SKETCHES  OF  EMINENT  AMERICANS. 

is  at  the  present  time  a  trustee  of  the  state  lunatic  asylum,  director  of 
a  rail-road  corporation,  president  of  a  bank,  and  a  member  of  a  super- 
intending school-committee,  besides  attending  to  his  own  personal 
affairs,  among  which  is  the  principal  direction  of  an  extensive  mercan- 
tile store.  All  of  which  claims  upon  his  time  receive  their  due  share 
of  attention,  and  nothing  suffers  from  neglect. 

In  all  affairs  pertaining  to  the  interests  of  the  town,  whether  civil, 
political  or  religious,  Dr.  Smith  has  always  taken  an  active  and  an 
interested  part,  and  not  an  annual  town  meeting  has  ever  occurred  since 
he  was  of  age,  that  found  him  not  at  the  post  of  duty.  Feeling 
responsibility,  he  would  not  shrink  from  its  demands.  Not  only  has  he 
taken  an  interest  in  every  movement  bearing  on  the  prosperity  of  the 
town,  but  he  has  uniformly  exerted  himself  to  aid  young  men  in  assist- 
ing to  establish  them  in  business  or  to  develop  their  growing  powers, 
without  prospect,  expectation,  or  even  hope  of  pecuniary  gain  to  him- 
self. 

Having  thus  spoken  of  our  subject  in  his  more  public  relations  and 
character,  it  becomes  a  duty,  as  it  is  a  pleasure,  to  speak  of  him  in  the 
more  private,  yet  not  less  important  nor  less  influential  relations  of  life. 
Oftentimes  it  is  the  case,  that  men  of  large  intellect  and  business  talents 
make  their  way  to  a  fortune,  and  not  unfrequently  to  considerable  influ- 
ence and  eminence,  without  having  given  any  direct  attention  to  moral 
and  religious  culture.  Such  are  frequently  sustained  or  kept  from  fallmg 
by  the  influence  of  other  minds  and  the  force  of  other  characters 
around  them,  strengthened  and  stimulated  by  moral  and  religious  power, 
and  are  not  seldom  more  indebted  to  the  exertions  and  principles  of 
others  than  they  are  aware  of,  for  the  strength  in  which  they  stand,  and 
the  safeguards  by  which  they  are  surrounded.  Not  so  with  the  subject 
of  our  sketch.  From  parental  insti-uction  and  example  in  early  life, 
he  learned  the  value  of  integrity  of  soul,  swayed  by  religious  principle, 
and  he  became  early  impressed  with  the  importance  of  the  latter,  not 
only  as  a  regulator  of  the  conduct,  but  as  a  power  of  sustentation  and 
of  hope  to  the  soul  in  the  midst  of  temptations  and  trials,  by  which  all 
on  earth  are  surrounded.  Christianity,  by  his  mind,  has  ever  been 
regarded  as  a  great  spiritual  motive  and  directing  power,  the  redresser 
of  earth's  wrongs  by  the  corrective  spirit  which  it  breathes,  and  the 
inspirer  of  a  cheerful  and  exalted  hope  in  a  better  life  beyond  the 
shadows  of  the  tomb.  But  not  as  even  the  majority  in  our  land  see 
Christianity  has  he  seen  it — a  restraint  on  the  joyous  emotions  of  the 
soul,  revealing  foreboding  evil  to  triumph  in  ruin  forever  in  a  world 
beyond  the  grave,  but  as  the  victor-power  over  all  wrong,  and  as 
announced  by  the  celestial  visitants  to  the  abodes  of  mortals,  in  breath- 
ings of  "  peace  on  earth,  good-will  to  men."  Hence,  he  has  had  nor 
offerings  to  lay  on  the  altars  of  expediency,  of  selfishness,  of  pride,  or 
fashion,  but  the  paternity  of  God  touching  the  affections  of  a  suscep- 
tible and  responsive  heart  has  inspired  the  ardent  and  grateful  reverence 
of  the  soul !  He  worships  God  in  the  spirit  of  confiding  trust,  yielding 
to  him  that  homage  of  the  heart  wliich  the  unchanging  love  of  the  best 
of  fathers  may  rightfully  claim.  And  in  the  support  of  the  ordinances 
of  religion  no  one  is  more  cheerfully  liberal  or  prompt. 

A  Universalist  in  heart  and  faith,  as  a  republican  in  political  prin- 


JOSEPH   HAVEN  SMITH,  OF  NEW-HAMPSHIRE.  53 

ciple,  Dr.  Smith  regards  mankind  as  a  brotherhood,  and  it  is  claiming 
for  him  no  more  than  all  who  know  him  are  willing  to  concede,  to  say 
that  his  life  and  deportment  honor  the  profession  he  has  made.  Pro- 
minently active  in  the  society  of  which  he  is  a  member,  and  devoted 
to  the  interests  of  the  church  of  which  he  is  an  officer,  his  place  in 
the  house  of  worship  is  occupied  with  undcviating  constancy  ;  and  as 
a  teacher  in  the  Sabbath-school,  to  which  he  has  been  long  and  fondly 
attached,  having  been  connected  therewith  as  a  pupil  or  a  teacher  from 
early  childhood  to  the  present  time,  he  is  as  a  father  among  his  chil- 
dren, honored,  respected  and  beloved,  still  carrying  on  the  great  work 
of  education  to  which  the  best  thoughts  of  his  life  have  been  wedded. 
The  common  excuses  for  neglecting  to  attend  to  Christian  duty,  through 
want  of  time  and  other  considerations  of  a  similar  character,  form  no 
part  of  the  emanations  of  his  mind  ;  and  though  business  presses  upon 
his  attention  from  every  quarter,  even  much  more  than  usually  falls  to 
the  lot  of  the  most  active,  still  so  admirably  are  his  arrangements  made, 
that  he  never  lacks  for  time,  as  certainly  he  does  not  for  inclination,  to 
attend  to  the  higher  claims  which  are  made  upon  a  moral  and  religious 
nature.  His  life,  in  short,  is  a  beautiful  reflection  of  the  spirit  which 
exerts  a  controling  influence  over  his  soul,  and  consecrates  all  his 
powers  to  active,  cheerful  duty. 

In  the  domestic  circle,  Dr.  Smith  is  the  soul  of  kindly  solicitude 
and  care,  and  the  minds  of  his  children  are  swayed  and  moulded  by  a 
spirit  of  gentleness  and  love,  which  not  only  commands,  but  wins,  by  its 
own  pure  breathings,  that  filial  confidence  and  respect  which,  in  mutual 
reciprocity,  sheds  so  holy  and  so  bright  a  lustre  over  home-scenes  and 
hearts.  The  life,  under  these  circumstances,  is  as  though  it  were 
designed  to  be  perpetual  in  the  possession  of  its  cherished  joys,  while 
still  the  soul  looks  forward,  in  the  light  of  the  mercifid  revealings  of 
infinite  love,  to  that  higher  and  better  life,  where  those  joys  shall  be 
realized  in  the  fullest  measure.  And  thus  the  light  of  that  blest 
abode  is  reflected  to  earth,  to  lend  its  cheering  to  her  pilgrims  to  a 
better  land. 

A  remarkable  characteristic  of  the  subject  of  this  imperfect  sketch 
is  the  perfect  self-possession  and  equanimity  of  temper  with  which  he 
is  always  enabled  to  bear  himself,  even  in  the  midst  of  the  most 
exciting  scenes,  or  under  the  strongest  provocation.  Uniformly  cheerful 
and  happy  in  disposition,  proverbially  kind  and  generous  in  his  impulses, 
strong  and  faithful  in  his  attachments,  and  ardently  devoted  to  his 
country,  his  God,  and  truth,  his  life  and  example  afford  an  encouraging 
pattern  of  imitation  to  the  young.  And  self-discipline,  added  to  a  life 
of  rigid  and  constant  self-culture,  have  combined  to  render  him  one 
of  the  most  useful  and  cherished  citizens  of  his  native  state.  What- 
ever distinction  she  has  conferred  upon  him  has  been  fully  repaid  by 
his  devotion  to  her  interests  and  honor,  in  a  prompt  and  faithful  dis- 
charge of  duty  ;  and  whatever  she  may  in  futixre  time  confer,  will, 
doubtless,  meet  the  same  return  at  his  hands. 


54  SKETCHES  OF  EMINENT  AMERICANS. 

J.  R.  GOTT, 

CASHIER    OF    THE    ROCKPORT    BANK,    ROCKPORT,     MASSACHUSETTS. 

It  is  not  our  purpose  in  these  pages  to  exhibit  to  view  a  person  of 
splendid  talents,  uncommon  powers  of  mind,  or  finished  scholarship ; 
the  credit  which  we  claim  for  the  subject  of  this  sketch  is  simply  that 
of  being  a  self-made  man.  This,  in  a  country  where  industry,  integrity, 
and  honorable  effort,  rather  than  the  consideration  of  rank,  wealth,  or 
title,  are  the  passport  to  public  esteem,  is  a  character  which  we  con- 
template with  the  highest  degree  of  admiration  and  respect. 

Jabez  Richardson  Gott  was  born  of  respectable  parents,  in 
Gloucester,  Sandy  Bay,  now  Rockport,  Massachusetts,  on  the  19th  of 
February,  1794.  When  he  was  about  two  years  old,  his  father  died, 
leaving  his  mother,  an  energetic  and  capable  woman,  with  the  car.i  of 
a  large  family.  With  the  assistance  of  her  sons,  she  continued  to 
carry  on  the  business  of  her  late  husband,  until  her  second  marriage, 
and  the  subject  of  this  sketch  was,  until  he  reached  his  sixteenth 
year,  chiefly  employed  in  assisting  in  various  duties,  working  on  land, 
&c.  His  early  opportunities  for  education  were  very  limited,  as  the 
schools  in  the  village  were  poor,  and  he  was  able  to  attend  usually 
only  about  three  months  in  the  year ;  but  these  opportunities  were 
diligently  improved  to  the  best  advantage.  In  1810,  he  entered  as 
clerk  into  an  English  goods  store,  where  he  remained  several  months, 
and  then  left,  and  resumed,  for  a  short  time,  his  former  pursuits. 

His  constitution,  however,  being  naturally  delicate,  was  not  suffi- 
cient to  endure  severe  nicnual  labor,  and,  as  he  had  evinced  a  fondness 
for  study,  he  was  advised  by  his  father-in-law  to  go  into  the  coimtry 
for  the  purpose  of  attending  school. 

Accordingly,  at  the  age  of  eighteen  years,  he  left  his  native  village 
for  Salisbury,  N.  H.,  where  he  spent  the  autumn  of  1812  in  attending 
to  the  common  English  branches,  at  the  academy  in  that  place.  Near 
the  close  of  the  term,  he  was  waited  upon  by  the  committee  of  a  dis- 
trict in  Sanbornton,  now  a  part  of  Franklin,  N.  H.,  with  the  request 
that  he  would  teach  their  school  in  the  ensuing  winter.  With  many 
misgivings,  he  finally  consented  to  do  so  ;  and  as  the  term  was  not 
to  commence  immediately,  he  placed  himself  for  a  few  weeks  under 
the  tuition  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Bodwell,  of  Sanbornton,  in  order  the  better 
to  become  qualified  for  the  duties  before  him.  At  the  close  of  this 
period  he  received  a  certificate  of  good  scholarship  and  high  moral 
character  from  the  latter. 

Soon  after  he  commenced  his  school,  one  of  his  pupils,  being  aware 
of  his  inexperience  as  a  school-teacher,  took  occasion  to  ascertain  the 
extent  of  his  knowledge,  by  requesting  the  solution  of  a  problem  with 
which  it  was  his  boast  that  he  could  puzzle  any  of  his  teachers. 

Being  then  engaged  in  school  exercises,  he  put  the  young  man  ofll 
for  a  time,  saying  to  him  that  he  would  examine  the  problem  more 
thoroughly  at  his  leisure,  but  continued,  at  the  same  time,  to  ponder  it 
in  his  mind  through  the  day.     School  hours  being  over,  as  he  was 


\fX  Siceec/fS"  o^ Emin^u  Arnenca/.^ 


J.    R.    GOTT,  OF  MASSACHUSETTS.  55 

walking  towards  his  boarding-place,  his  mind  still  occupied  with  the 
subject,  he  thought  he  perceived  the  difficulty  in  the  sum,  and,  pro- 
ceeding directly  to  his  room,  obtained  a  solution  at  once.  This  easy 
victory  had  the  effect  of  silencing  the  boaster,  and  its  influence  doubt- 
less contributed  much  to  the  good  success  which  attended  the  efforts 
of  the  teacher  during  the  remainder  of  the  term. 

The  spring  of  1813  was  spent  by  him  at  Salisbury  Academy,  and 
the  summer  at  Sanbornton,  in  the  family  of  a  friend,  where  he  continued 
to  apply  himself  closely  to  his  studies.  In  the  autumn  of  the  same 
year  he  attended  the  Institution  for  Teachers,  under  the  care  of  Mr. 
Leavitt,  at  Meredith,  N.  H.,  where  he  devoted  his  attention  particularly 
to  astronomy,  surveying,  and  navigation.  At  the  close  of  this  term  he 
was  again  solicited  to  become  the  instructor  of  a  school  at  Sanbornton 
Bridge,  which  he  taught  through  the  winter  with  so  much  acceptance 
to  the  district  generally,  that,  the  following  spring,  a  subscription 
school  was  raised  for  him,  in  order  that  his  services  might  be  secured 
for  the  public  school  in  the  summer. 

The  autumn  was  again  spent  at  Meredith,  and  in  the  winter,  having 
a  desire  to  revisit  his  native  place,  he  returned  to  Sandy  Bay, 
and  hiring  a  private  room,  fitted  it  up  and  commenced  teaching,  with 
about  forty  pupils.  The  following  year  he  began  surveying,  and  draw- 
ing instruments  of  writing,  in  connection  with  teaching,  and  for  many 
yeai's  a  large  proportion  of  the  business  of  the  kind,  in  the  village,  was 
performed  by  him.  He  continued  to  teach,  in  private  rooms,  until  the 
year  1820,  when  he  erected  a  building  for  school  purposes  on  what  is 
now  Mount  Pleasant,  in  Rockport.  This  he  occupied  for  some  years 
afterwards.  During  all  this  time  he  continued  to  improve  his  own 
education,  never  refusing  to  instruct  in  any  branch  desired,  but  prose- 
cuting his  studies  in  advance  of  his  pupils.  Many  persons  now  resid- 
ing in  Rockport  have  received  a  large  part  of  their  instruction  at  his 
schools. 

In  1^5  he  entered  the  dry-goods  business,  which  he  continued,  in 
connection  with  three  different  firms,  until  1834.  About  two  years 
after  his  return  from  New-Hampshire,  he  became  united  in  marriage  to 
Miss  Hannah  B.  Jewett,  the  orphan  niece  and  resident  in  the  family 
of  the  Rev.  David  Jewett,  pastor  of  the  Congregational  Society  in 
Sandy  Bay.  Three  daughters  were  added  to  their  family,  the  oldest 
of  whom  died  in  infancy. 

On  the  3d  of  April,  1825,  Mr.  Gott  united,  by  profession,  to  the 
Congregational  Church,  of  which  he  was,  three  years  subsequently, 
chosen  deacon,  and  of  which  he  has  ever  continued  to  be  a  consistent, 
exemplary,  and  useful  member.  To  promote  the  cause  of  Christ  he 
has  ever  considered  a  high  privilege  ;  and  his  benefactions  for  the  sup- 
port of  the  gospel,  at  home  and  abroad,  have  been  constant  and  liberal. 
He  was  chosen  clerk  and  treasurer  of  the  parish  in  1817,  which  office 
he  continued  to  hold  until  his  resignation  in  1851.  Upon  the  organi- 
zation of  a  Sabbath  School  in  the  society,  the  same  year,  (1817,)  he 
entered  it  as  a  teacher,  and  has  now  been  its  superintendent  for  many 
years. 

He  was  early  interested  in  the  temperance  cause,  and  was  con- 
nected with  the  first  association  for  the  suppression  of  intemperance 


OG  SKETCHES    OF    EMINENT    AMERICANS. 

formed  in  his  native  place,  in  1815.  By  the  efforts  of  the  members 
of  this  association  much  good  was  effected.  From  time  to  time,  as 
more  stringent  pledges  Avere  adopted,  he  continued  to  enter  heartily 
in  the  work. 

In  various  other  ways,  also,  the  history  of  the  subject  of  this  memoir 
is  closely  identified  with  that  of  the  town  in  which  he  resides,  and  no 
enterprise  has  been  started  for  the  last  thirty  or  thirty-five  years,  in 
which  he  has  not  taken  a  prominent  and  zealous  part.  Yet,  he  has 
been  by  no  means  an  office-seeker  ;  the  confidence  reposed  in  him  by 
his  fellow-citizens,  as  a  person  of  correct  judgment  and  strict  integrity, 
has  ever  induced  them  to  honor  him  with  offices  of  trust. 

He  has,  for  the  last  twenty-six  years,  performed  the  business  of 
clerk  and  treasurer  of  the  Isinglass  Company,  and  has  held  the  same 
office  in  the  service  of  the  Pier  Company  for  about  half  of  that  period. 
He  was  secretary  of  the  Marine  Insurance  Company  for  some  four- 
teen years  previous  to  1840,  at  which  time  he  resigned,  in  consequence 
of  the  pressure  of  other  duties  ;  and  he  has  also  held  various  minor 
stations  of  trust,  from  time  to  time. 

Upon  the  establishment  of  the  Rockport  Steam  Cotton  Mills,  in  1847, 
Mr.  Gott  became  its  clerk  and  treasurer,  and,  at  the  time  of  his  resig- 
nation, three  years  subsequently,  he  was  chosen  president  of  the 
directors  of  the  same  corporation.  He  now  holds  the  situation  of 
cashier  of  the  Rockport  Bank,  which  was  established  in  April,  1851, 
and,  for  its  accommodation,  has  added  a  wing  to  his  dwelling-house, 
to  be  used  for  a  banking-room,  which  is  finished  in  the  same  style  as 
the  former. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  is  now  somewhat  past  the  meridian  of 
life,  being  nearly  fifty-nine  years  of  age.  In  person  he  is  rather  tall, 
erect,  with  a  high  intellectual  forehead,  and  a  countenance  expressive 
of  benevolence,  firmness,  and  intelligence  ;  affable  and  courteous  in 
his  manners,  he  bears  with  him  every  mark  of  the  gentleman  and  the 
man  of  business. 

In  politics  he  is  a  stanch  and  decided  Whig,  familiar  with  the 
principles  of  his  party,  and  ever  ready  to  advocate  and  defend  them 
when  occasion  presents  itself. 

In  concluding  this  memoir,  we  would  say  to  those  young  men  who 
are  aiming  at  advancement  in  life,  set  your  standard  high  ;  if  difficul- 
ties and  discouragements  arise  in  your  path,  suffer  them  not  to  turn 
you  aside  ;  a  persevering  and  determined  spirit  is  sufficient  to  over- 
come every  obstacle.  Above  all,  strive  to  cultivate  a  high  moral  char- 
acter ;  this,  more  than  every  other  qualification,  will  secure  for  your- 
selves the  confidence  and  esteem  of  those  whose  favor  it  is  your  high- 
est ambition  to  deserve. 


STEPHEN    M.    ALLEN,    OF    BOSTON,    MASSACHUSETTS.  §7 

STEPHEN    M.   ALLEN, 

OF    BOSTON,  MASSACHUSETTS. 

The  subject  of  the  foliowiug  sketch  furnishes  one  of  those  rare  exem- 
plifications of  the  successful  "  pursuit  of  knowledge  under  difiiculties," 
which  ought  to  be  regai'ded  with  pride  and  admiration  by  every  man 
who  realizes  the  true  dignity  of  his  nature.  Such  instances,  springing 
entirely  out  of  humble  life,  supported  solely  by  a  self-poising  energy, 
inherent  and  irrepressible,  stand  out,  occasionally,  in  bold  relief,  glori- 
ously prominent  upon  the  broad  field  of  human  action.  They  rise  into 
monuments  far  more  imposing  and  interesting  than  the  most  pompously 
inscribed  columns  and  tablets  of  the  ancient  oriental  monarchs  :  for  they 
speak  a  language  that  interprets  itself,  and  may  be  contemplated  by  suc- 
cessive generations  with  accumulating  moral  and  social  benefit. 

Stephen  M.  Allen  was  born  in  the  town  of  Burton,  N.  H.,  on  the  15th 
of  April,  1819,  and  is  now,  consequently,  34  years  of  age.  He  is  the 
third  of  four  children,  being  preceded  by  a  brother  and  sister,  and  hav- 
ing a  younger  sister.  His  parents,  Isaac  and  Betsey  S.  Allen,  were  highly 
respectable,  religious,  and  intelligent  people,  ardently  attached  to  their 
offspring.  Although  in  very  moderate  circumstances,  they  ever  faith- 
fully devoted  a  most  liberal  share  of  their  limited  means  to  the  proper 
culture  and  support  of  those  whom  Providence  had  placed  in  their 
charge :  and  they  still  live  in  the  enjoyment  of  those  results  of  their 
parental  care  and  fidelity,  which  are  evinced  so  happily  in  the  prosperity 
and  the  elevated  reputation  of  their  children. 

Among  the  early  settlers  of  the  north-western  part  of  his  native  state, 
were  his  paternal  and  maternal  grandfathers,  who  emigrated  from  Mas- 
sachusetts soon  after  the  war  of  the  revolution.  They  were  among  the 
foremost  of  the  patriots  of  that  eventful  period ;  both  fought  at  the  bat- 
tle of  Bunker  Hill ;  and  one  of  them,  Capt.  Jeremiah  Oilman,  was 
colonel  of  a  regiment  during  the  war. 

The  birthplace  of  Stephen  M.  is  a  most  romantic  and  picturesque  spot, 
rechning  at  the  foot  of  Mount  Corchorau,  a  spur  of  the  White  Moun- 
tains, the  rugged  summit  of  which  is  so  admirably  represented  in  Cole's 
celebrated  picture  of  the  "  Hunted  Chief."  His  early  boyhood,  until  his 
eighth  year,  was  spent  amidst  the  rude  beauty  of  this  secluded  home ; 
and  his  very  first  memories  are  connected  with  ideas  of  bold  enterprise, 
and  deeds  of  comjnilsory  daring,  which  were  forced  into  his  opening 
mind  by  the  natural  objects  that  environed  him,  and  the  impressive  inci- 
dents which  he  was  made  to  witness  and  to  feel.  He  had  frequently 
beheld  the  destructive  effects  of  storms  and  floods,  and  avalanches,  upon 
the  expected  harvests  of  the  husbandman  ;  and  had  derived  a  lesson  from 
the  patient  and  determined  toil  whereby  these  injuries  were  overcome  and 
repaired.  He  had  seen  his  father's  inclosures  invaded  by  hordes  of  raven- 
ous animals  from  the  neighboring  forests  and  glens — the  orchards  espe- 
cially, being  objects  of  peculiar  attraction — wherein,  among  the  branches 
of  the  apple  trees,  the  sullen  bear  and  his  companions  would  sit,  and 
munch  at  leisure  the  summer  sweetings,  as  though  the  grateful  plunder 


58  SKETCHES    OF    EMINENT    AMERICANS, 

were  the  unquestioned  fruits  of  their  own  industry.  And  even  from  such 
spectacles  might  our  young  friend  have  drawn  a  parallel,  touching  the 
rapacity  of  some  of  his  own  species — an  example  of  which  he  was  des- 
tined ere  long  to  experience.  Amidst  scenes  and  associations  hke  these, 
he  imbibed  that  veneration  for  the  sublime  and  beautiful  in  the  material 
world,  that  spirit  of  adventure  stimulating  the  soul  to  its  utmost  legiti- 
mate efforts,  and  that  profound  sense  of  justice  between  fellow  men, 
which  soon  began  to  glow  in  his  imagination,  to  give  freedom  and  vigor 
to  his  thoughts,  and  to  indicate  the  outlines  of  his  future  career.  Such 
were  the  stern  beginnings,  that  constituted  the  foundations  and  buttresses 
of  a  character,  in  which  energy,  and  perseverance,  and  liberality  are  most 
strikingly  displayed.  ^ 

The  next  experiment  in  active  life  which  young  Allen  Avas  destined  to 
undergo,  was  of  a  more  painful  nature  than  any  that  had  sprung  from 
the  rude  influences  by  which  he  had  hitherto  been  surrounded  :  for  it 
•was  the  harsh  and  relentless  work  of  human  agency.  Somewhere  about 
the  year  1826,  his  father  and  six  others  were  involved  as  sureties  for  a 
trader  in  the  place,  who  became  insolvent.  This  event  led  to  a  separa- 
tion of  the  little  family,  and  to  their  expulsion  from  the  homestead.  The 
law,  in  its  utmost  rigor,  was  instantly  enforced  against  the  parties ;  and 
all,  save  Mr.  Allen,  were  incarcerated,  and  subsequently  took  "  the  poor 
debtors'  oath."  He  was  exempted  only  upon  the  strength  of  his  solemn 
promise  that,  should  his  life  be  spared,  he  would  ultimately  pay  the  entire 
debt,  "  to  the  uttermost  farthing."  Hard  indeed  was  the  fate  that  threw 
the  members  of  this  innocent  household  upon  the  unsheltering  expanse 
of  a  cold  world ;  and  the  father  lamented  it  chiefly,  because,  said  he, 
^'  it  denies  ine  the  privilege  of  securing  for  my  children  a  suitable  educa- 
tion." From  this  time,  the  three  elder  children  were  deprived  of  school 
advantages,  and  were  dependent  alone  on  the  instructions  of  their  parents, 
both  of  whom,  fortunately,  in  early  life  had  been  school  teachers.  It  is 
unnecessary  to  add  that  this  duty,  on  their  part,  was  fulfilled  to  the  ut- 
most of  their  ability.  The  young  pu})i]s  felt  the  privations  to  which  they 
were  subjected,  and  applied  themselves  with  redoubled  diligence  to  their 
allotted  tasks. 

The  parting  from  the  family  mansion  was  a  deeply  aflfecting  incident. 
Nearly  every  article  of  furniture  had  been  seized,  and  sold  with  the 
house,  towards  satisfying  the  creditors'  demand.  As  the  fond  father, 
leadino-  his  houseless  dependents,  bade  adieu,  with  tearful  eyes,  to  their 
once  happy  dwelling,  he  paused  a  moment,  and  thus  addressed  them  : — 
■"  We  are  driven  from  our  home,"  said  he,  "  penniless ;  yet  the  debt  is 
not  satisfied.  I  am  now  only  spared  to  you,  under  the  assurance  that 
it  shall  yet  be  paid  in  full.  That  pledge  must  be  redeemed.  If  I  fail, 
you  must  perform  the  promise ;  and  furthermore,  this  homestead  must 
also  be  recovered.  If  you  are  true  to  the  principles  I  have  taught  you, 
both  of  virtue  and  diligence,  you  will  be  enabled  to  accomplish  this 
work,  though  I  may  not."  T3eeply  did  these  calm  and  earnest  words  of 
a  resolutely  honest  man  sink  into  the  hearts  of  his  children.  The 
injunction  was  remembered,  and  in  course  of  time  completely  fulfilled — 
although  its  achievement  consumed  fifteen  long  years  of  the  united 
labors  of  that  struggling  family.  The  execution  was  finally  discharged 
— every  dollar   of  principal   and  interest;    the  father's  obligation  was 


STEPHEN    M.    ALLEN,    OF    BOSTON,    MASSACHUSETTS.  59 

liquidated,  and  the  endeared  domicile  once  more  restored  to  its  wonted 
occupants. 

In  the  meantime,  new  sources  of  subsistence  must  be  sought  out,  a 
temporary  abode  provided  for  the  self-banished  wanderers,  and  means 
instantly  devised  for  supplying  their  daily  recurring  bodily  wants.  The 
small  manufacturing  village  of  Dover  was  selected  as  a  place  of  present 
refuge,  and  as  affording  chances  for  the  employment  of  a  portion  of  the 
children.  The  two  eldest  were  soon  engaged  in  the  simpler  process  of  a 
cotton  factory,  and  the  mother  commenced  the  business  of  a  boarding- 
iiouse ;  while  the  father  undertook  the  humble  vocation  of  a  cattle- 
drover,  usually  accompanied  by  young  Stephen,  in  his  excursions  around 
tlie  country.  The  latter  had  early  manifested  much  mechanical  taste 
and  genius  ;  and  when  only  nine  years  of  ap:e  he  was  placed  in  the  manu- 
facturing establishment  then  under  the  superintendence  of  the  late  James 
Freeman  Curtis.  This  gentleman  took  a  Uvely  interest  in  his  juvenile 
but  zealous  charge,  instructed  him  in  the  elements  of  engineering,  in  the 
construction  and  uses  of  various  descriptions  of  machinery,  and 
gradually  imparted  to  him  a  large  amount  of  valuable  practical  informa- 
tion connected  with  the  several  branches  of  the  cotton  manufacture. 
He  continued  his  studies  in  this  department  of  mechanical  science  for 
some  three  years ;  during  which  he  made  such  rapid  and  remarkable 
progress,  that  he  was  enabled  to  calculate,  accurately,  the  size  and  speed 
of  every  species  of  gearing  in  a  cotton  factory.  At  the  age  of  twelve, 
he  accompanied  his  father  into  the  State  of  Maine,  where  the  latter 
purchased  a  piece  of  land  with  the  view  of  establishing  a  farm.  Here 
they  resided  by  themselves  in  a  log  cabin,  for  nearly  a  year,  preparing 
materials  for  the  construction  of  a  dwelling-house  and  other  buildings. 
Every  stick  of  limber  was  felled  by  father  and  son,  who  also  sawed  every 
board  at  the  mill.  With  the  customary  assistance  of  neighboring 
farmers,  a  small  house  and  barn  were  erected  and  made  ready  for 
occupancy  ;  and  again,  with  the  exception  of  the  two  elder  children,  the 
family  were  brought  together— a  happy  re-union  after  a  separation  so 
long  and  vexatious. 

At  fifteen,  after  having  wrought  a  year  at  the  heavy  trade  of  a  black- 
smith, Stephen  engaged  himself  to  a  company  at  Bangor,  then  largely 
concerned  in  the  erection  of  mills  on  the  Penobscot.  At  this  period, 
the  people  in  that  quarter  were  extensively  interested  in  the  great 
eastern  land  speculation ;  and  the  services  of  practical  engineers  were  of 
course  in  much  demand.  He  remained  with  this  company  nearly  two 
years,  at  the  highest  rate  of  wages  paid  to  that  class  of  operatives, 
notwithstanding  his  youth.  It  would  have  been  easy  for  him  to  have 
entered  upon,  and  ultimately  carried  out  the  desire  of  his  heart — that 
of  obtaining  a  classical  education.  But  the  pecuniary  embarrassments 
of  his  father  remained  yet  unremoved ;  and  to  relieve  these,  he  had 
ever  deemed  a  paramount  duty.  With  the  view  of  completing  his 
mechanical  education,  he  forthwith  proceeded  to  Boston,  then  having 
attained  the  age  of  seventeen.  He  entered  the  metropolitan  wilderness, 
"  solitary  and  alone,"  without  money  or  friends,  and  knowing  not  an 
individual  in  the  city.  But  the  element  of  idleness  was  not  among  the 
ingredients  of  his  composition ;  and  he  soon  obtained  employment  in 
the   highly   respectable   establishment   of  Bryant    and   Herman,  then 


60  SKETCHES    OF    EMINENT    AMERICANS. 

largely  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  stoves,  &c.  Here  lie  found  fine 
opportunities  for  the  exercise  and  improvement  of  hh  artistic  and 
inventive  talent,  and  for  acquainting  himself  also  with  all  the  routine  of 
mercantile  life  ;  still  continuing,  however,  to  occupy  all  his  spare  time, 
especially  during  the  evenings,  in  the  untiring  pursuit  of  his  favorite 
vocation,  determined  to  perfect  himself  in  the  art  and  mystery  of  an 
iron-wovker.  Having  quickly,  and  almost  intuitively  made  himself 
master  of  the  science  of  book-keeping  ;  and  having,  by  a  course  of  strict 
integrity,  and  diligent  devotion  to  business,  secured  the  cordial  esteem 
and  confidence  of  his  employers;  he  was  intrusted  with  the  management 
and  control  of  both  the  mechanical  and  financial  departments  of  the 
firm.  Such  had  been  his  fidelity  to  the  interests  of  the  company,  and 
the  skill  with  which  he  had  discharged  his  responsible  duties,  that,  on 
attaining  his  majority,  and  commencing  business  on  his  own  account  in 
the  same  line,  his  employers  at  once  afforded  their  most  powerful  aid. 

An  act  so  generous  and  disinterested,  was  equally  honorable  to  both 
parties.  It  was  a  high-minded  tribute  to  the  moral  qualities  as  well  as 
to  the  commercial  abilities  of  the  beneficiary — now  launching  forth  upon 
the  uncertain  sea  of  human  enterprise,  without  actual  capital,  and  rel}'- 
ing  for  success  solely  upon  honest  purposes  and  rightly  aimed  energies. 
He  has  ever  remembered  that  act  with  the  profouudest  gratitude  ;  and 
has  often  been  heard  to  remark,  that  during  these  latter  years  of  his 
minority  his  character  was  formed,  and  had  then  attained  its  balance  ; 
and  that  should  he  prosper  in  his  future  undertakings,  securing  at  the 
same  time  a  good  reputation,  he  should  feel  indebted  more  to  the  disci- 
pline and  example  of  the  gentlemen  of  this  firm,  then  to  all  other  influ- 
ences by  which  he  had  been  affected  since  he  left  the  parental  roof. 

When  he  entered,  thus  prepared,  upon  the  hazardous  field  before  him, 
it  was  not  without  a  plan,  also,  in  reference  to  his  future  course,  and  ulti- 
mate destiny.  Having  just  succeeded  in  cancelhng  the  balance  of  that 
bond,  which  for  so  many  years  had  absorbed  the  united  earnings  of  his 
family,  he  was  now  but  square  with  the  world,  dependent  entirely  on 
that  measure  of  credit  which  should  accrue  to  him  from  a  faithful  and 
judicious  application  of  the  means  furnished  by  his  friends.  He  was 
ambitious  to  repay  his  pecuniary  obligations  with  all  possible  despatch ; 
yet  he  I'esolved  also,  in  furtherance  of  his  earliest  aspirations,  to  pursue  a 
systematic  course  of  practically  useful  studies.  Intending  always  to 
remain  connected  with  various  branches  of  mechanical  science,  he  desired 
to  honor  that  profession  by  bringing  to  its  aid  all  the  resources  that  a 
studious  life  might  supply  from  the  treasures  of  classical  and  philoso- 
phical learning.  Included  among  his  proposed  researches,  was  an  in- 
vestigation of  the  principles  of  legal  science — not  with  any  view  of  be- 
coming a  practitioner,  but  for  the  purpose  of  acquiring  such  informa- 
tion in  the  premises  as  might  bo  useful  in  the  prosecution  of  his  business 
as  an  artisan.  He  therefore  took  up  the  study  of  the  law,  under  a 
respectable  counsellor  of  Boston,  devoting  to  it  all  his  leisure  hours,  and 
pursuing  it  at  intervals  through  several  consecutive  years,  during  the 
ordinary  seasons  of  commercial  relaxation.  Within  this  period  he 
entered  the  Law  School  at  Cambridge,  and  having  passed  through  the 
required  course  with  great  credit,  received  from  Harvard  University  the 
degree  of  Bachelor  of  Law.    At  about  this  time,   likewise,  he  made 


RTEPIIEX    M.    ALLEN,    OF    BOSTON,    MASSACHUSETTS.  61 

several  important  improvements  in  machinery  and  other  machanical 
apparatus  in  his  line  of  business,  for  which  he  obtained  patents.  In 
1844,  in  connexion  with  his  more  special  vocation,  be  commenced  the 
erection  of  a  number  of  buildings,  in  Boston  and  Roxbury  ;  and  within  a 
short  time  thereafter  had  constructed  more  than  one  hundred  dwelling- 
houses  and  stores  in  those  cities — an, enterprise  which  yielded  very 
handsome  returns.  In  addition  to  these  numerous  concerns  and  cares, 
he  found  opportunit}'  to  visit  nearly  every  State  in  the  Union,  and  hav- 
ing a  natural  taste  for  mineralogical  researches,  to  make  himself  familiar 
with  the  general  geological  formations  of  all  parts  of  our  country. 
These  diverse  operations  show  the  activity  and  versatility  of  his  mind. 

On  his  22d  birth-day,  Mr.  Allen  allied  himself  in  marriage  to  Miss 
Ann  Maria,  daughter  of  Wiliiam  Gridley,  a  highly  esteemed  merchant 
of  this  city.  This  lady,  who  is  of  superior  education  and  accoiiiplish- 
ments,  jjossesses  in  an  eminent  degree  the  interesting  qualities  and  ex- 
alted virtues  which  so  admirably  harmonize  with  temperament  and 
habits  like  those  of  her  worthy  companion.  They  early  selected  Rox- 
bury as  their  place  of  permanent  residence  ;  the  citizens  of  which  per- 
suaded him  to  enter  their  city  government.  Having  served  faithfully  in 
the  council,  of  which  he  was  ever  an  influential  and  assiduous  member, 
he  was  next  elected  by  a  large  popular  vote  to  the  state  legislature. 
Throughout  one  of  the  most  trying  and  protracted  sessions  ever  known — 
that  of  1851 — he  was  constantly  at  his  post,  interesting  himself  deeply  in 
every  subject  of  legislation,  on  all  of  which  he  acted  with  earnest  fidelity 
to  the  best  interests  of  his  constituents,  and  a  conscientious  regard  to  the 
eternal  principles  of  justice,  which  he  deemed  paramount  to  every  con- 
sideration of  mere  party  policy.  He  seldom  undertook  an  elaborate 
harangue ;  but  his  remarks,  which  were  always  to  the  point,  were 
•delivered  in  a  manner  so  energetic  and  effective,  that  they  never  failed 
to  command  the  attention  and  respect  of  his  hearers.  In  the  course  of 
that  session,  it  became  his  duty  to  act  with  committees  having  under 
consideration  subjects  of  great  practical  importance.  Among  the  docu- 
ments which  emanated  from  his  pen  at  this  time,  was  one  in  relation  to 
the  culture  of  flax  as  a  substitute  for  cotton,  which  created  great  interest 
in  other  parts  of  the  Union,  inasmuch  as  this  subject  had  been  taken  up 
by  the  legislature  of  no  other  state.  As  a  legislator  he  is  ever  remark- 
ably clear  and  decided  ;  for  his  extensive  experience  on  general  subjects, 
together  with  his  practical  knowledge  of  the  various  interests  of  a  com- 
munity, gives  him  a  quick  perception  of  the  real  necessity  of  those  whom 
he  represents. 

Two  years  since  Mr.  Allen  was  elected  a  director  in  Cochituate  Bank, 
and  was  soon  thereafter  inade  President  of  Ihat  institution.  It  has  not 
yet  lost  one  dollar  since  he  has  been  in  the  bank,  and  is  in  a  ver)'  pros- 
perous condition.  He  had  made  an  impression  on  the  financial  world, 
having  repeatedly  been  oflered  large  commissions  for  going  to  Europe  to 
negotiate  loans,  and  large  salaries  to  take  the  financial  management  of 
Railroad  Corporations.  He  projected  the  Niagara  Canal  which,  is  now 
being  constructed,  and  is  a  director  in  the  Niagara  Falls  Hydraulic  Co., 
which  is  to  be  the  water  power  for  manufacturers ;  and  is  also  one  of 
the  prominent  leaders  of  the  great  Lyons  Iowa  Central  Railroad,  running 
from  the  Mississippi  to  the  Missouri  river.  He  has  established  at  his 
own  cost  and  expense,  public  libraries  in  the  town  where  he  was  born, 


62  SKETCHES    OF   EMINENT    AMERICANS. 

also  in  tlie  new  town  of  Corinna,  in  Maine,  where  he  used  to  live.  He 
has  donated  $5000  to  the  town  of  West  Roxbury,  where  he  now  resides, 
for  a  public  library,  and  has  agreed  to  make  a  donation  of  |5000  to  a 
new  College  in  Indiana,  to  be  called  the  Fulton  College,  whenever  suflB- 
cient  money  shall  be  raised  from  other  sources  to  establish  it.  He  made 
a  donation  to  his  native  state,  of  two  pictures  for  the  State  House,  one 
of  Webster,  and  one  of  Woodbury,  which  cost  $1000.  He  has  educated 
three  young  men,  one  in  each  of  the  professions  of  Medicine,  Law,  and 
the  Ministry. 

As  a  politician,  Stephen  M.  Allen,  following  steadily  in  the  track  of  his 
progenitors,  is  a  true-hearted  whig ;  and  does  much,  in  an  unostentatious 
way,  for  that  party,  among  the  young  men  of  his  age.  He  is  one  of  those 
who  have  preferred  working  to  talking;  and  has,  therefore,  met  with 
extraordinary  success  in  the  several  campaigns  through  which  he  has 
served.  He  has  long  been  a  contributor  to  two  of  the  public  journals, 
advocating  whig  principles ;  and  has  also  written  much,  under  assumed 
signatures,  for  literary  and  scientific  pe7-iodicals.  His  writings  are  lucid 
and  comprehensive,  evincing  uncommon  powers  of  application  and  analysis. 
As  a  compliment  to  some  of  his  private  productions,  the  honorary  degree 
of  Master  of  Arts  was  recently  conferred  upon  him  by  Columbian  Col- 
lege, D.C. 

As  a  man  of  business,  Mr.  A.  is  prompt,  sagacious,  energetic,  and  per- 
severing— at  once  liberal  and  just  in  all  his  transactions.  When  satisfied 
of  the  honesty  of  a  cause,  or  the  duty  of  an  enterprise,  he  enters  upon 
and  pursues  his  object  with  an  earnestness  of  effort  seldom  equalled,  and 
a  strength  of  determination  not  often  baffled  by  surmountable  obstacles. 
As  a  citizen,  he  is  ever  ready  to  promote  the  welfare  of  the  community 
around  him,  and  actively  interests  himself  in  the  furtherance  of  every 
laudable  work  intended  for  the  public  benefit.  In  his  manners  he  is  * 
remarkably  aff^ible,  slow  to  resent  aifronts,  candid  and  sincere  in  the  for- 
giveness of  injuries — properties  which  invariably  distinguish  a  truly  honor- 
able spirit.  His  social  qualities  and  kind  affections  secure  the  strong 
attachment  and  friendship  of  all  who  know  him  well,  and  are  able  to 
appreciate  true  dignity  of  mind  and  purity  of  heart.  Among  his  imme- 
diate fellow  citizens,  of  every  rank,  he  is  regarded  with  a  degree  of  favor 
to  which  few  attain  :  he  has  ever  sought  to  bring  about  a  state  of  sym- 
pathetic feeling  between  the  rich  and  the  poor,  the  mechanic  and  the 
merchant,  the  professional  man  and  the  laborer — himself  maintaining  a 
happy  medium  among  all  classes.  No  consciousness  of  extraordinary 
success,  or  of  rapidly  accumulated  wealth,  prompts  him  to  confine  his 
intercourse  exclusively  to  what  is  sometimes  termed  the  aristocracy ;  on 
the  contrary,  he  looks  with  pity  upon  those  shallow-minded  and  super- 
cilious creatures,  who,  having  suddenly  risen  to  opulence,  contemn  the 
aw-encies  which  elevated  them,  and  attempt  to  assume  the  airs  of  here- 
ditary millionaires.  Not  only  does  his  innate  modesty  revolt  against  those 
artificial  distinctions  in  society,  which  spring  solely  from  fortuitous  riches ; 
but  he  takes  pleasure  in  adverting  to  his  obscure  origin,  in  recounting  the 
trials  and  difficulties  he  has  been  forced  to  encounter  and  to  overcome  ; 
and  delights  in  his  ability  still,  if  need  be,  to  toil  at  the  forge,  in  the  fabri- 
cation of  any  of  the  products  of  the  hammer  and  the  anvil. 

Though  advised  by  many  of  his  friends  to  adopt  the  practice  of  the 
law  as  a  profession,  and  as  a  stepping-stone  to  the  attainment  of  political 


STEPHEN   M.    ALLEN,    OF    BOSTON,    MASSACHUSETTS.  63 

distinction,  he  has  never  changed  his  original  plan  of  identifying  himself 
with  mechanical  and  financial  pursuits,  nor  believed  that  a  title  more 
valued  can  be  conferred  than  that  v^^hich  he  enjoys  as  a  member  of  the 
Massachusetts  Mechanics'  Asssociation.  And  now,  notwithstanding  his 
partial  withdrawal  from  that  branch  of  business  in  vk^hich  he  first  engaged 
on  his  own  account,  he  is  still  extensively  concerned  in  various  manufac- 
turing and  other  industrial  establishments,  in  this  commonwealth,  and  at 
the  West ;  preferring  the  tranquil  and  even  tenor  of  a  life  so  occupied, 
to  the  more  exciting  and  tumultuous  race  after  public  honors,  though 
objects  even  of  laudable  ambition,  in  which  men  of  far  less  tact,  expe- 
rience, firmness,  constancy,  or  merit,  are  often  known  to  succeed. 

Although  most  of  the  facts  and  details  here  presented,  respecting  the 
early  history  of  Mr.  A.,  have  been  gathered  from  his  immediate  relatives,  or 
from  other  authentic  sources,  it  is  in  regard  to  his  character  as  a  friend, 
that  the  writer  of  this  imperfect  sketch  is  enabled  to  speak  more  directly 
and  experimentally — having  enjoyed  for  several  consecutive  years  the 
advantage  of  a  close  intimacy,  aftbrding  the  amplest  opportunities  for 
observation.  In  this  interesting  relation  he  exhibits  all  those  philan- 
thropic attributes  that  constitute  the  perfection  of  what  is  known  among 
men  as  friendship.  Ardent  and  devoted,  he  is  at  the  same  time  sincere 
and  candid  ;  never  fixing  his  atiections  upon  objects  that  he  has  not  first 
proved  to  be  deserving — and  never  deserting  those  objects,  even  if  com- 
pelled, in  kindness,  to  administer  an  occasional  reproof.  Having  once 
undertaken  to  render  a  service,  or  in  any  way  to  advance  the  cause  of 
one  whom  he  has  admitted  to  his  confidence,  no  consideration  of  policy — 
no  dread  of  other  men's  frowns — can  deter  him  from  pursuing  that  design, 
perseveringly  and  determinedly,  to  its  issue.  Nor  does  he  rest  contented 
until  his  purpose  be  fulfilled,  or  any  equal  amount  of  good  be  secured 
by  other  honorable  means. 

Delineations  of  character  like  the  present,  though  concise,  and  possibly 
defective,  are,  nevertheless,  demanded  pro  bono  publico.  Individual  dif- 
fidence may  shrink  from  the  exposition  even  of  its  own  most  cherished 
virtues.  But  honorable  designs  and  noble  deeds,  though  sought  to  be  con- 
cealed, are  public  property.  Justice  to  the  subjects  of  such  sketches,  as 
well  as  to  mankind  at  large,  claims  that  we  should  "  render  unto  Caesar 
the  things  that  are  Caesar's,"  while  yet  the  current  of  life  and  usefulness 
flows  freshly  and  vigorously ;  nor  delay  until  time  shall  have  cast  into 
oblivion  events  and  examples,  by  which  the  world  might  have  been  profited, 
if  earlier  commemorated. 


^^ 


OF  ZWRTS  CAROZI^'jS.  . 
ZCRKTARY  OF  TSE  VNITED  STATES  NAVY. 


Hn^nzyedr  ib?-Bi^arcwhi&3L3Jc£ii:hee  of  Em2n£nJ>  ^nu:rLj^'^ 


JAMES  C.   DOBBIN,  OF  NORTH   CAROLINA.  65 

HON.  JAMES  C.  DOBBIN 

SECRETARY  OF  THE   NAVY, 

Is  a  native  of  Fayetteville,  North  Carolina,  and  the  eldest  child  of 
John  M.  and  Ahness  C.  Dobbin.  He  was  born  in  1814,  and  named 
after  his  maternal  grandfather,  James  Cochrane,  who  represented  the 
Orange  district  in  Congress  dm*ing  the  war  of  1812. 

His  father,  John  M.  Dobbin,  was  a  merchant  in  Fayetteville  during 
a  period  of  thirty  years,  and  died  in  1837,  universally  regretted. 

At  an  early  age  the  subject  of  this  memoir  was  sent  to  school  in  his 
native  town,  where  he  rapidly  acquired  the  rudiments  of  a  classical, 
education.  Afterwards  he  was  sent  by  his  father  to  the  school  of  Mr. 
W.  J.  Bingham,  in  Hillsboro',  N.  C,  where  he  Avas  prepared  for  col- 
lege. In  1828  he  entered  the  freshman  class  of  the  University  of 
North  Carolina,  when  he  was  about  fourteen  years  old. 

At  the  University  he  was  distinguished  for  a  prompt  and  faithful  dis- 
charge of  every  duty  imposed  upon  him,  as  also  for  a  ready  and  cheer- 
ful observance  of  all  the  rules  and  regulations  of  that  institution.  He 
was  considerably  the  youngest  member  in  his  class,  and  for  four  years 
manfully  sustained  himself  and  boldly  took  his  stand  among  the  fore- 
most in  that  honorable  field  of  rivalry,  and  in  1832  graduated  with  high 
distinction  in  the  same  class  with  Hon.  Thomas  L.  Clingman,  Johr. 
H.  Haughton  and  Thomas  S.  Ashe,  Esquires,  and  other  distinguished 
gentlemen.  Throughout  his  entire  college  course  Mr.  Dobbin  was  t; 
universal  favorite  with  the  students  and  faculty  at  Chapel  Hill,  and  s© 
far  had  his  amiable  traits  of  character  won  upon  the  affections  of  the 
venerable  president.  Dr.  Caldwell,  that  he  has  been  heard  to  say  in  the 
bosom  of  his  family  :  "  It  would  gladden  his  heart  to  be  the  father  of 
such  a  son  as  James  C.  Dobbin." 

After  graduating,  Mr.  Dobbin  commenced  the  study  of  law  in  thj 
office  of  the  Hon.  Robert  Strange,  at  that  time  one  of  the  judges  who  pre 
sided  on  the  Superior  Court  Bench,  in  North  Carolina,  and  under  hi.'^' 
guidance  and  instruction,  devoted  two  and  a  half  years  to  the  mastery 
of  that  science  which  has  been  denominated  the  "  perfection  of  reason." 

During  a  portion  of  the  time  that  Mr.  Dobbin  read  law  with  Judge- 
Strange  he  was  also  an  inmate  of  his  house  and  a  member  of  his  fami- 
ly, and  thus  possessed  the  advantage  of  the  judge's  oral  instructioi 
during  leisure  hours,  and  also  laid  the  foundation  of  that  reciprocal 
affection  and  esteem  that  have  so  increased  upon  them  until  long  since 
the  distinctions  of  teacher  and  pupil  have  passed  away,  or  rather  have 
been  merged  in  those  of  fond  companions  and  bosom  friends. 

In  1835,  Mr.  Dobbin,  having  read  well  and  closely  Coke  on  Little- 
ton, Blackstone's  Commentaries,  Chitty's  Pleading,  Starkie  on  Evi- 
dence, and  such  other  books  as  his  preceptor  had  prescribed,  and  hav- 
ing now  attained  his  majority,  he  applied  for  and  obtained  his  licens'c 
to  practise  law.  He  immediately  opened  a  law  office  in  Fayetteville, 
N.  C,  and  most  assiduously  devoted  himself  to  a  strict  and  regular  at- 
tendance at  it.  During  office  hours,  whether  clients  came  or  not,  h. 
VOL.  iix  5 


66  SKETCHES  OF  EMINENT  AMERICANS. 

was  always  in  nis  office,  and  this  regularity  of  custom  in  a  short  time 
had  considerable  influence  upon  his  professional  success. 

Mr.  Dobbin  did  not,  as  too  many  young  lawyers  do,  select  an  ex- 
tensive circuit  in  the  outset,  but  wisely  husbanded  his  time  and  energies 
for  a  faithful  discharge  of  chamber  business  in  Fayetteville,  and  in 
attendance  upon  the  County  and  Superior  Courts  of  Cumberland,  Robe- 
son and  Sampson.  His  theory  was  and  still  is,  "  Let  a  man  build  up 
a  reputation  at  home,  let  it  radiate  and  precede  him  rather  than  that 
he  should  precede  it."  Upon  this  theory  he  has  always  acted,  and 
every  extension  of  his  circuit  has  more  resembled  a  triumph  than  an 
effort  to  succeed. 

The  first  capital  case  in  which  Mr.  Dobbin  appeared  was,  where  one 
negro  man  was  indicted  in  Cumberland  Superior  Court,  in  1837,  for 
the  murder  of  another  negro.  He  had  the  honor  to  be  associated  in 
the  defence,  with  the  Hon.  Robert  Strange,  who  had  just  been  elected 
U.  S.  Senator,  and  had  resigned  his  seat  upon  the  bench.  In  the  man- 
agement of  the  defence,  Mr.  Dobbin  displayed  great  subtlety  and  inge- 
nuity, and  in  his  arguments  to  the  jury,  gave  evidence  of  those  pecu- 
liar talents  that  have  since  ranked  him  with  the  most  successful  and 
ablest  criminal  advocates  in  North  Carolina.  Throughout  the  range  of 
our  acquaintance  we  know  of  no  lawyer's  history  that  is  more  instruc- 
tive and  encouraging  to  young  members  of  the  profession  than  that  of 
Mr.  Dobbin.  No  accidental  circumstance  occurred  by  which  he 
seized  on  fame  by  a  single  eflbrt.  No  one  case  can  be  cited  as  that 
which  made  the  man.  On  the  contrary,  his  practice  and  reputation 
have  daily  increased  by  a  faithful  and  able  discharge  of  duty.  In  his 
early  career,  too,  "  he  was  content  to  labor  and  to  wait,"  and  not 
ashamed  to  learn  from  such  luminaries  as  Toomer  Eccles,  Strange  and 
Henry,  who  were  the  leaders  at  the  Fayetteville  bar  at  the  time  of  his 
admission,  but  with  whom  he  was  so  shortly  to  contend. 

He  was  frequently  desired  to  represent  his  native  county — Cumber- 
land— in  the  state  legislature,  but  this  honor  he  invariably  declined, 
alleging  that  he  was  happy  and  contented  in  the  discharge  of  his  profes- 
sional duties,  and  conceived  that  he  experienced  more  real  joy  in  the 
bosom  of  his  family  than  he  could  ever  expect  from  the  excitement  of 
political  life.  To  this  determination  he  adhered  until  1845,  when  the 
democratic  party  nominated  him  as  a  candidate  to  represent  them  in 
Congress,  from  the  Raleigh  district.  The  nomination  was  unsought 
and  unexpected,  and  taking  into  account  his  youth,  his  retired  life,  the 
district,  and  the  able  men  who  resided  in  it,  he  could  not  regard  it  as 
otherwise  than  an  extremely  flattering  testimonial  of  the  high  estima- 
tion in  which  he  was  held,  and  after  some  hesitation  he  accepted  the 
nomination,  and  entered  upon  the  campaign.  His  competitor  was  his 
old  class-mate,  John  H.  Haughton,  Esq.,  an  able  and  talented  whig. 
At  the  close  of  the  campaign,  however,  Mr.  Dobbin  was  ascertained  to 
be  elected  by  a  majority  of  two  thousand  votes,  whilst  in  the  previous 
campaign  his  democratic  predecessor  had  only  beaten  his  whig  rival 
about  three  hundred  votes. 

At  the  commencement  of  the  29th  Congress,  Mr.  Dobbin  was  pre- 
sent and  had  the  honor  to  be  placed  upon  the  committee  on  contested 
elections,  and  took  a  very  active  part  in  all  its  deliberations  and  reports. 


JAMES  C.   DOBBIN,  OF   NORTH  CAROLINA.  67 

In  the  contested  election  from  Florida,  between  Cabell  and  Brocken- 
brough,  Mr.  Dobbin  was  of  opinion  Cabell  was  not  entitled  to  his 
seat,  and  so  voted. 

In  the  New-Jersey  contested  election  between  Runk  and  Farlee, 
he  was  chairman  of  the  majority  committee,  and  submitted  its  report. 
In  this  case  he  was  active  and  zealous,  and  labored  hard  to  have  the 
cause  terminated  at  an  early  day.  For  having  satisfied  himself  that 
nineteen  of  the  students  at  the  college  in  New-Jersey  had  &  right  to  vote, 
he  was  anxious  that  justice  should  be  done,  by  declaring  that  Farlee, 
democrat,  was  not  entitled  to  his  seat,  but  that  Runk,  the  whig 
member,  was — and  his  view  of  the  case  was  finally  sustained  by  a 
majority  of  the   House. 

On  the  Oregon  question  Mr.  Dobbin  spoke.  He  thought  the  time 
"  for  masterly  inactivity  "  had  gone  by,  and  he  was  in  favor  of  serv- 
ing a  notice  on  Great  Britain  to  terminate  the  joint  tenancy. 

On  the  public  land  bill,  then  before  Congress,  he  delivered  an  able 
and  eloquent  speech.  He  rose  above  party  trammels,  and  said,  "lam 
opposed  to  the  policy  of  ceding  these  laiids  to  the  states  in  which  they 
lie" — that  neither  justice  nor  any  other  consideration  of  sound  policy  re- 
quired it,  and  appealed  to  gentlemen  to  strike  that  feature  from  the  bill. 

In  this  speech  he  advocated  the  necessity  of  striking  from  the  sta- 
tute book  the  tariff  act  of  1 842,  and  after  an  elaborate  argument,  tend- 
ing to  prove  that  it  taxed  every  other  branch  of  industry,  for  the  sole 
purpose  of  enriching  the  manufacturer,  he  proceeded  to  enforce  his 
positions  by  a  reference  to  the  conduct  of  England,  in  the  following 
beautiful  and  characteristic  remarks  : 

"  Mr.  Chairman,  it  has  fallen  to  our  lot  to  become  actors  on  the 
theatre  of  public  life  at  a  most  remarkable  era  in  the  history  of  the 
world.  The  human  mind,  evincing  its  mighty  and  mysterious  capa- 
bilities, is  achieving  triumphs  at  once  wonderful  and  sublime.  The 
elements  of  nature  are  playthings  for  it  to  sport  with.  Earth,  ocean, 
air,  lightning,  yield  subservient  in  the  hands  of  genius,  to  minister  to 
the  wants,  the  purposes,  and  the  pleasures  of  man.  Science  is  fast 
developing  to  the  meanest  capacity  the  hidden  secrets  of  nature, 
hitherto  unexplored  in  the  researches  of  philosophy.  Education  is 
exerting  its  mild  and  refining  influences  to  elevate  and  bless  the  people. 
The  control  of  electricity  is  astonishing  the  world.  The  power  of 
steam  is  annihilating  distance,  and  making  remote  cities  and  towns 
and  strangers  at  once  neighbors  and  friends.  Amid  these  mighty 
movements  in  the  fields  of  science,  literature,  and  philosophy,  the 
liberal  spirit  of  free  government,  in  its  steady  and  onward  progress,  is 
beginning  to  accomplish  much  for  the  amelioration  of  the  condition  of 
the  human  family,  so  long  the  hope  of  the  statesman  and  the  philanthro- 
pist. The  illiberal  maxims  of  bad  government — too  long  supported  from 
false  reverence  for  their  antiquity — are  beginning  to  give  place  to  the 
enlightened  suggestions  of  experience.  England,  the  birthplace,  is 
proposing  to  become  the  grave,  of  commercial  restriction.  In  that 
land,  whose  political  doctrines  are  so  often  the  theme  of  our  denun- 
ciation and  satire,  with  all  the  artillery  of  landed  aristocracy,  asso- 
ciated wealth,  and  party  vindictiveness  leveled  at  him,  there  has 
appeared  on  the  stage  a  learned,  a  leading  premier.  Sir  Robert  Peel, 


68  SKETCHES  OF  EMINENT  AMERICANS. 

who,  blending  in  his  character  much  of  the  philosophy  of  Burke,  (lie 
bold  and  matchless  eloquence  of  Chatham,  and  the  patriotism  of 
Hampden,  has  had  the  moral  courage  and  magnanimity  to  proclaim 
that  he  can  no  longer  resist  the  convictions  of  experience  and  obser- 
vation, and  that  the  system  of  commercial  restriction  and  high  protec- 
tion is  wrong,  oppressive,  and  should  be  abandoned.  Already,  sir, 
has  much  been  done  ;  already  has  the  British  tariff,  so  long  pleaded 
as  the  excuse  for  ours,  been  radically  reformed,  and  in  obedience  lo 
the  persevering  demand  of  an  outraged  people,  we  hope  that  the  next 
gale  that  crosses  the  Atlantic  will  come  laden  with  the  glorious 
tidings  of  a  still  greater  triumph  in  the  repeal  of  the  com  laws,  so 
oppressive  to  Englishmen  and  injurious  to  Americans. 

"  And  shall  we  not  reciprocate  this  liberal  spirit  ?  Shall  republican 
America,  so  boastful  of  her  greatness  and  freedom,  be  outstripped 
in  her  career  in  this  cause  of  human  rights  by  monarchical  England  ■? 
No,  sir — I  do  not,  cannot,  and  will  not  believe  it.  I  have  an  abiding, 
unshaken  faith  in  the  ultimate  triumph  of  so  righteous  a  cause.  Mr. 
Chairman,  we  may  surpass  the  nations  of  the  earth  in  science,  in 
arms,  and  in  arts  ;  the  genius  of  our  people  may  attract  the  admiration 
of  mankind — may  cause  'beauty  and  symmetry  to  live  on  canvas' 
— may  almost  make  the  '  marble  from  the  quarry  to  breathe  and 
speak' — may  charm  the  world  with  elegant  attainments  in  poetry 
and  learnmg  —  but  much,  very  much  will  be  unaccomplished  ;  the 
beauty  of  our  political  escutcheon  will  still  be  marred  while  com- 
merce is  trammeled,  and  agriculture  and  trade  depressed  by  bad 
legislation." 

At  the  close  of  the  session  he  returned  to  Fayetteville  and  prose- 
cuted his  legal  pursuits  with  energy  and  zeal. 

On  the  meeting  of  Congress,  he  was  again  in  attendance,  and  on 
the  "three  million"  bill  he  delivered  a  .speech,  which  in  its  range 
embraced  the  "  Mexican  war,"  the  "  Wilmot  Proviso,"  and  the  •'  ex- 
tension of  slave  territory,"  that  attracted  the  attention  of  the  whole 
country,  and  ranked  Mr.  Dobbin  among  the  ablest  debaters  in  con- 
gress. 

From  this  speech,  which  was  much  praised  at  the  time  as  an  able 
vindication  of  southern  rights  and  interests  upon  constitutional  grounds, 
and  in  a  national  spirit,  we  take  the  liberty  of  selecting,  at  random, 
some  detached  passages,  as  illustrative  of  his  power  of  investing  the 
most  obstruse  subjects  with  a  graceful  and  peculiar  charm. 
"  Mr.  Dobbin  next  addressed  the  committee  as  follows  : 
"  Mr.  Chairman, — I  do  not  rise  upon  this  occasion  for  the  purpose 
of  republishing  another  edition  of  the  history  of  the  Mexican  war.  Its 
origin,  its  rise,  and  its  progress,  are  familiar  to  the  humblest  cottager 
of  the  country  as  well  as  the  most  active  politician  in  the  capital. 
The  fame  of  those  gallant  soldiers  who  fought  and  achieved  the  bril- 
liant victories  of  Monterey  and  Resaca  de  la  Palma,  has  crossed  the 
confines  of  our  own  republic,  and  has  elicited  the  applause  and  admi- 
ration of  the  mightiest  powers  on  earth. 

"  But,  Mr.  Chairman,  there  is  a  war  of  recent  origin,  upon  the  origin, 
the  rise,  and  the  progress  of  which,  I  do  propose  to  make  some  re- 
marks this  morning :    I  mean  the  war  recently  waged  upon  the  repu- 


JAMES  C.   DOBBIN,  OF  NORTH   CAROLINA.  69 

tation,  the  constitutional  rights  and  domestic  institutions  of  the  southern 
states. 

"  Before  1  proceed,  then,  Mr.  Chairman,  to  reply  to  the  arguments 
used  by  these  gentlemen,  I  take  the  liberty  of  doing  what  i  regret 
these  gentlemen  did  not  do,  of  making,  at  least,  a  respectful  allusion  to 
the  constitution.  I  have  always  thought,  sir,  it  was  the  pride  and 
boast  of  Americans  that  we  not  only  lived  in  the  enjoyment  of  tliQ 
blessings  of  a  free  government,  but  that  our  rights,  our  properly,  and 
happiness,  are  protected  by  a  written  constitution,  which  we  are  all 
taught  to  regard  as  sacred  and  inviolable  ;  a  constitution  written  by 
the  same  hands  that  had  just  wielded  (he  sword  in  the  cause  of  human 
freedom  ;  a  constitution  dictated  by  hearts  burning  with  an  ardent 
love  of  liberty,  and  just  released  from  the  thraldom  of  tyranny.  And 
when  a  wise  legislator — one  who  appreciates  his  responsibility  as  a 
representative,  and  his  rights  as  a  citizen — is  invited  into  a  new  field 
of  legislation,  he  turns  to  the  pages  of  the  constitution  to  learn  whether 
he  has  the  constitutional  right  to  act,  before  he  proceeds  to  the  sub- 
ordinate considerations  of  policy  and  expediency.  And,  sir,  if  there 
ever  was  a  question  which  should  call  into  exercise  all  our  self- 
control,  all  our  wisdom,  all  our  patriotism,  and  a  strict  adherence  to 
the  constitution,  it  is  this  question  of  slavery — this  dangerous  rock 
upon  which  wise  and  good  men  have  gloomily  foreboded  that  our  ship 
of  state  would  one  day  be  wrecked,  and  the  world  be  called  sadly  to 
gaze  upon  the  sundered  and  bleeding  fragments  of  our  once  glorious 
and  happy  Union. 

"  But  if  we  are  true  upon  this  occasion  to  ourselves — true  to  that 
constitution,  the  sheet-anchor  of  our  safety — this  storm-cloud  that  now 
darkens  our  political  horizon,  and  threatens  to  break  in  its  fury  and 
scatter  desolation  and  dismay  through  our  wide-spread  republic,  will 
pass  off  in  harmless  silence,  and  leave  behind  it  a  clearer  sky  and  a 
more  genial  sunshine.  Sir,  however  exalted  may  be  the  patriotism, 
however  honest  the  motives,  however  disinterested  the  philanthropy, 
of  the  gentlemen  who  have  originated  this  scheme,  I  do  not  hesitate, 
here  in  my  place,  upon  the  solemn  responsibilities  of  a  man  and  a  re- 
presentative, to  contend  that,  in  my  opinion,  it  violates  that  written 
constitution  which  we  have  sworn  to  support ;  that  it  is  pregnant  with 
mischief  to  the  peace  and  harmony,  and,  in  the  estimation  of  many 
wise  men,  with  the  ultimate  destruction  of  this  Union. 

"  Mr.  Chairman,  I  do  not  propose  to  declaim  about  this,  but  to  dis- 
cuss it.  I  scorn  to  indulge  in  crimination  and  recrimination  ;  and  ex- 
citing as  this  topic  is,  I  still  indulge  the  belief  that  there  is  good 
sense  enough  left — that  there  is  patriotism  enough  left  in  this  house,  to 
enable  us  '  to  reason  together'  about  it,  and  to  rememl:^  that  this  is 
not  a  noisy  debating  society,  gotten  up  for  amusement,  but  the  House 
of  Representatives  of  a  great  and  proud  republic.  Sir,  I  distinctly 
lake  the  position  that  slaves  are  recognized  as  property  under  our  con- 
stitution;  that  in  that  constitution  safeguards  to  protect  this  peculiar  pro- 
perty are  expressly  contaitied ;  and  that  without  the  incorporation  of  these 
■safeguards  this  glorious  Union  could  not  have  been  consummated .  This 
Federal  Government  exists  under  the  constituLion  ;  it  derives  all  its 
oower  from  the  constitution ;  it  must  be  administered  by  rules  prescribed 

I 


70  SKETCHES  OF  EMINENT  AMERICANS. 

solely  hy  that  constitution,  and  possesses  no  powers  but  those  '  ex- 
pressly delegated  to  it.'  And  I  contend,  sir,  that  any  act  of  Congress 
which  prohibits  the  citizens  of  the  southern  states  from  carrying 
their  slave  property  with  them  into  territory  the  common  property  of 
the  United  States,  violates  most  palpaMy  the  faith  and  compromises  of 
the  constitution  ;  is  unwarranted  by  any  clause  contained  in  that  instru- 
ment ;  is  sectional,  unequal,  oppressive  ;  because,  while  it  announces 
to  the  citizens  of  one  section  of  the  Union  that  they  may  go  and  enjoy 
this  territory  with  all  their  property,  in  the  same  breath  it  notifies  the 
citizens  of  another  section,  if  they  go  and  settle  there,  they  must  leave 
their  slave  property  behind  them,  m  which  property  they  have  invested 
millions  of  money  under  the  sacred  guarantees  of  the  constitution. 

"  Gentlemen  say  that  the  South  is  dwarfed  ;  that  her  energies  are 
depressed,  her  moral  character  injured,  and  the  days  of  her  glory  past. 
Well,  the  South,  the  slaveholding  South,  gave  you  Washington,  '  the 
father  of  his  country' — '  first  in  war,  first  in  peace,  and  first  in  the 
hearts  of  his  countrymen.'  The  South  gave  you  Jefferson,  the  au- 
thor of  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  from  which  the  gentleman 
from  Ohio  quoted.  Did  Mr.  Jefierson  suppose,  when  he  said  that  '  all 
men  are  created  equal,'  that  this  would  ever  be  tortured  to  support  the 
doctrine  that  slaves  should  not  be  held,  when  it  is  known  that  Mr.  Jef- 
ferson, who  wrote  this  instrument,  was  a  slaveholder  himself  all  his 
life,  and  died  a  slaveholder  ?  And  Mr.  Madison,  '  the  father  of  the 
constitution,'  was  a  slaveholder. 

"  But  gentlemen  say  we  are  degenerate.  In  what,  sir,  are  we  so 
degenerate  ?  In  morals  ? — in  patriotism  ? — in  enterprise  ?  No,  sir, 
no.  If  in  oiden  times  we  gave  you  a  Washington — the  man  who  car- 
ried us  through  the  Revolutionary  war — have  we  not,  in  later  days, 
given  you  a  Jackson,  who  led  our  forces  with  equal  valor  and  success 
in  the  last  war  ?  And  yet  gentlemen  say  that  we  are  fallen,  and  that 
our  prosperity  is  gone  !  Sir,  there  is  a  measure  that  has  oppressed 
us — the  tariff'  law — which  has  compelled  us  to  bear  heavy  burdens  for 
the  benefit  of  the  northern  and  eastern  sections  of  the  country.  I  ap- 
peal to  the  gentlemen  of  the  Northwest,  who  have  stood  shoulder  to 
shoulder  with  the  South  in  the  battle  of  free  trade.  That  victory  is 
consimimated,  and  the  farmer  of  the  West,  as  well  as  the  planter  of 
the  South,  are  now  rejoicing  under  its  operation,  and  basking  in  its 
sunshine.  I  know  the  patriotism  of  the  Northwest.  She  has  not  been 
appealed  to  in  vain  in  the  cause  of  commercial  freedom,  and  now  she 
will  again  favorably  respond  in  the  cause  of  constitutional  right.  I 
appeal  to  the  young  State  of  Iowa,  which  has  just  come  into  the 
Union  ; — let  not  her  first  act  be  a  stab  at  the  constitution.  And  I 
know  I  shall  #ot  appeal  in  vain.  I  appeal  to  the  patriotism  of  all.  I 
appeal  to  the  North  to  remember  the  spirit  which  animated  their  an- 
cestors, and  their  feeling  of  devotion  to  the  principles  of  justice  and 
the  Union,  which  we  seek  to  carry  out  now.  I  appeal  to  the  patriot- 
ism of  this  house.  Now,  when  our  constellation  of  liberty  is  shedding 
Its  bright  effulgence  throughout  the  world,  let  it  not  be  dimmed  by 
dividing  the  cluster.  If  it  be  possible  let  the  Federal  Union  be  pre- 
served. Let  sectional  prejudices  be  banished  from  this  hall.  Let  us 
embark  in  a  generous  rivalry  to  do  most  in  compromising,  and  compro- 


JAMES  C.   DOBBIN,  OF  NORTH   CAROLINA.  71 

raising  forever,  and  settling  forever,  this  peace-disturbing,  this  Union- 
endangering  question.  But,  sir,  on  this  question  the  South  will  main- 
tain her  rights — let  that  he  understood — and  these  insidious  attempts  to 
crush  them  w^ill  be  rebuked." 

Having  served  the  term  for  which  he  vvras  elected,  Mr.  Dobbin  re- 
turned home,  announced  that  he  was  not  a  candidate  for  re-election, 
and  again  betook  himself  to  his  profession.  His  efforts  in  Congress 
gave  very  general  satisfaction  to  his  party,  and  on  his  return  to  the  bar, 
his  practice  was  increased  rather  than  diminished. 

Mr.  Dobbin  has  devoted  some  portion  of  his  leisure  to  literary  pur- 
suits. In  1836  he  delivered  an  address  befcft-e  the  Fayetteville  Ly- 
ceum, which  is  replete  with  bright  gems  and  lofty  sentiments,  and  was 
noticed  by  E.  J.  Hale,  Esq.,  in  his  ably  conducted  paper.  The  Fayette- 
ville Observer,  in  the  following  complimentary  terms  : 

"  To  say  that  we  were  pleased  with  the  lecture  delivered  by  James 
C.  Dobbin,  before  the  Fayetteville  Lyceum,  would  but  feebly  express 
our  own  and  the  feelings  of  the  large  audience  who  attended  on  that 
occasion.  To  a  style  flowing,  easy  and  graceful,  he  united  an  origin- 
ality and  brilliancy  of  thought,  and  enunciation  clear  and  distinct,  re- 
markable for  one  so  young,  and  giving  promise  of  a  future  bright  fame 
in  the  path  of  his  profession,  and  in  that  of  literature,  whose  sweets  he 
portrayed  in  such  eloquent  language." 

We  have  frequently  heard  Mr.  Dobbin  express  a  high  appreciation  of 
this  beautifully  expressed  compliment,  as  one  which  he  recurs  to  evea 
now  with  sincere  but  melancholy  pleasure,  as  it  was  the  only  public 
compliment  that  his  father  lived  to  hear  paid  him,  and  one  which  he 
had  reason  to  know  his  father  appreciated  highly  during  the  brief  re- 
mainder of  a  life  then  near  its  close. 

\\\  1840  he  delivered  an  address  before  the  Franklin  Library  So- 
ciety, which  added  to  his  reputation  as  an  elegant  writer  and  finished 
orator.  On  the  death  of  James  K.  Polk,  at  the  request  of  the  citizens 
of  Fayetteville,  he  delivered  his  eulogy. 

Li  June,  1850,  he  was  selected  to  deliver  the  annual  address  before 
the  two  literary  societies  of  the  University  of  North  Carolina,  at  Chapel 
Hill.  This  address  was  published  at  the  request  of  the  Philanthropic 
Society,  of  which  he  was  a  member,  and  is  evidently  the  emanation  of 
a  mind  deeply  imbued  with  the  bright  and  beautiful  as  spread  out  in 
nature  itself,  and  as  transcribed  and  reflected  in  the  glowing  pages  of 
the  great  masters  of  literature. 

The  allusion  to  the  lamented  Judge  Gaston,  and  the  address  which 
he  delivered  at  the  time  Mr.  Dobbin  graduated,  is  ingeniously  done, 
and  forms  the  introduction  to  his  own  address,  and  gives  him  an  op- 
portunity of  bearing  testimony  to  the  truth'  of  Mr.  Gaston's  teaching, 
in  the  following  beautiful  language  : 

"  Not  many  years  ago  it  was  my  lot  to  form  one  of  the  restless 
throng  of  college  youth,  who,  with  buoyant  hopes  and  eager  expecta- 
tion, sat  as  anxious  listeners,  and  drank  in  with  general  confidence 
and  affectionate  admiration,  those  moral  lessons,  those  encouraging 
maxims,  those  warning  admonitions,  so  eloquently,  so  impressively  ad- 
dressed to  us,  by  the  great,  the  good,  and  the  lamented  Gaston.  Well 
do  1  remember  that  look  of  earnest  and  heartfelt  sincerity,  with  which 


73  SKETCHES  OF  EMINENT  AMERICANS. 

that  venerable  man  sought  to  teach  us,  that  '  happiness  as  well  as  great- 
ness, enjoyment  as  well  as  renown,  have  no  friends  so  sure  as  integrity, 
diligence,  and  independence  ;'  that  'we  are  not  placed  here  to  waste 
our  days  in  wanton  riot  or  inglorious  ease,  with  appetites  perpetually 
gratified  and  never  palled,  exempted  from  all  care  and  solicitude,  with 
lil'e  ever  fresh  and  joys  ever  new.'  Well  do  I  remember  (and  may 
none  of  us  ever  forget)  that  thrilling,  heart-moving  burst  of  patriotic 
eloquence  with  which  he  held  up  to  our  gaze  the  gloomy  picture  of  a 
Union  dissolved — the  sundered,  bleeding  limbs  of  a  once  gigantic  body, 
instinct  with  life  and  health  and  vigor ;  his  proud  exultation  that  '  still 
we  are  great,  glorious,  united  and  free  ;'  his  touching  appeal  to  the 
youth  then  before  him,  that  surely  '  such  a  country  and  such  a  consti- 
tution have  claims  which  cannot  be  disregarded.'  That  eloquent  les- 
son is  now  familiar  to  you  all,  and  a  student  Avould  blush  not  to  know 
it  by  heart.  That  beloved  statesman  is  now  beneath  the  sod.  His 
state  mourns  his  loss,  and  his  memory  will  ever  be  cherished  by  all 
who  appreciate  virtue,  love  excellence,  and  admire  learning.  He  spoke 
the  experience  of  one  who  had  nearly  completed  the  journey  of  life, 
and  had  himself  played  no  humble  part  in  the  race  of  honorable  am- 
bition. 

"  He  who  now  comes  at  your  bidding,  hath  made  but  little  way  in 
his  pilgrimage,  and  might  well  be  content  to  return,  from  the  dust  and 
bustle  and  turmoil  of  a  thus  far  busy  life,  for  the  first  time,  to  his  Alma 
Mater — this  starting  point  in  the  journey — and  assure  you  who  have 
kindly  invited  him,  and  who  are  now  panting  to  enter  on  "  life's  fitful 
course,"  that  thus  far  he  hath  found  the  maxims  of  that  lamented  states- 
man to  be  founded  in  true  wisdom — that  '  Integrity'  is  the  crowning 
virtue — that  'Labor  is  not  more  the  duty  than  the  blessing  of  man' — 
that  our  beloved  country  does  present  to  '  the  eyes,  the  hopes,  and 
gratitude  of  man,  a  picture  as  lovely  and  brilliant,'  as  he  painted  it  in 
his  loftiest  declamation.  And  well  might  I  now  add,  that  country  now 
— more  that  ever  notv — challenges  all  your  wisdom,  all  your  virtue,  all 
your  patriotism,  to  uphold  and  maintain  it ;  to  save  it  from  the  angry 
strifes  of  the  impetuous  and  the  rash — ^the  mischievous  machinations 
of  the  ambitious  and  the  selfish — the  reckless  madness  of  misguided 
fanaticism." 

He  then  proceeds  to  discuss  the  "  exalted  pleasures  of  cultivated 
taste,  and  the  exquisite  enjoyments"  of  him  who  can  luxuriate  in  the 
green  pastures,  and  amid  the  fragrant  flowers  of  elegant  literature."  In 
the  midst  of  his  address  he  makes  the  following  beautiful  allusion  to 
President  Polk: 

"  Time  was  when  a  striplmg  youth  was  seen  here  on  this  same  hill, 
struggling  with  his  compeers  for  the  modest  prize  of  the  college  honors. 
Stern  morality  tempered  his  ambition  ;  diligence  bore  him  through  in 
triumph ;  parental  smiles  and  greeting  friends  cheered  him  as  he 
was  decked  with  the  university  honors.  Time  passed  on.  A  vast 
irwltitude  throng  the  eastern  portico  of  the  capitol  of  the  republic. 
Fashion  and  wealth,  the  curious  and  the  gay,  the  great  men  and  wise 
of  the  land  are  there.  For  a  moment  solemn  stillness  pervades  that 
assembly;  then  the  air  is  rent  with  the  shouts  of  rejoicing  ;  for  a  great 
people  have  just  placed  upon  the  brows  of  a  statesman  the  highest 


JAJIES   C.   DOBBIN,  OF   NORTH   CAROLINA.  73 

honors  of  the  proudest  republic  on  earth !  Let  the  aspiring  student 
learn  and  be  encouraged  by  the  interesting,  truth,  that  that  statesman 
was  the  stripling  boy,  who  began  by  winning  his  first  honors  at  the 
University  of  North  Carolina,  and  ended  by  wearing  that  of  a  mighty 
republic." 

He  next  proceeds  to  address  the  graduating  class,  and  endeavors 
to  impress  upon  their  minds  love  of  country,  and  a  true  appreciation  of 
the  inestimable  value  of  the  Union,  in  the  following  language  : 

"  And  what  a  country  too  is  that  in  which  your  lot  is  cast,  that  makes 
us  all  glory  in  the  name  of  American  citizens — that  makes  us  all  so 
proud  of  the  past,  so  proud  of  the  present,  so  hopeful  of  the  '  shadowy 
future  !'  Poetic  imagination  is  overtasked  in  the  effort  to  picture  its 
real  grandeur  ;  so  changeful  the  scene,  so  rapid  the  transition,  so  won- 
derful its  strides  from  infant  weakness  to  giant  manhood !  Once  a 
mighty  wilderness,  a  continent  of  unquelled  forests,  the  home  of  the 
fierce  savage  and  the  howling  panther ;  noio  a  beautiful  land  of  cul- 
tivated fields,  and  filled  with  statesmen,  orators,  and  philosophers ! 
Once  a  modest  flag,  adorned  with  thirteen  stars,  afiixed  to  a  flagstafT 
planted  between  the  mountains  and  the  Atlantic,  waved  over  three 
millions  of  American  freemen  ;  now  a  broad  ensign,  bearing  on  its 
ample  folds,  not  thirteen,  but  thirty  stars,  nailed  to  a  flagstaff",  planted, 
not  on  the  narrow  confines  between  the  mountains  and  the  Atlantic, 
but  on  the  mountains,  on  the  valleys  of  the  Atlantic  and  the  Pacific, 
and  the  great  gulf  of  the  south — affording  protection  not  to  three  but 
to  twenty  millions  of  free  citizens  of  an  "  ocean-bound  republic  !"  Of 
other  lands  poetic  prophecy  reveals  only  sad  visions  of  decay  and 
downfall.     British  genius  hath  already  written  of  our  father  land  — 

"  '  England,  like  Greece,  shall  fall  despoiled,  defaced. 

And  weep,  the  Tadraor  of  the  watery  waste. 

The  wave  -shall  mock  her  lone  and  manless  shore, 

The  deep  shall  know  her  freighted  wealth  no  more; 

And  unborn  wanderers  in  the  future  wood, 

Where  London  stands,  shall  ask  where  London  stood.' 

"  But  if  American  sons  prove  worthy  of  American  sires  ; — if  educa- 
tion be  truly  the  protectress  of  liberty ; — if  time  and  Christianity,  in- 
stead of  elevating  and  blessing,  have  not  debased  man — yours  is  the 
land  whose  future  grandeur  and  magnificence  will  continue  to  baffle 
the  conceptions  of  the  wildest  imagination.  We  read  in  sacred  history, 
that  for  the  preservation  of  the  human  family,  Noah  was  seen  con- 
structing an  ark.  The  fancy  of  the  gifted  Headley  has  graphically 
painted  the  scene, — that  as  the  huge  edifice  went  up,  '  The  farmer  re- 
turned at  evening  from  his  field,  and  the  gay  citizen  of  the  town  drove 
past  and  christened  it '  Noah's  Folly,'  and  the  workmen  upon  it  laughed 
as  they  drove  the  nails  and  hewed  the  plank.  But  when  the  terrible 
storm  came — upborne  on  the  flood,  the  heaven-protected  ark  rose  above 
the  buried  cities  and  mountains,  and  floated  away  on  the  shoreless 
deep.  And  when  the  deluge  was  stayed,  with  its  inmates  unharmed, 
it  at  last  safely  reposed  on  the  summit  of  the  sacred  mountain  Ararat.' 
We  read  too  in  profane  history  that  time  was  when  our  Washington 
was  seen  constructing  a  political,  a  republican  ark,  for  the  final  pro- 
tection of  human  liberty.    When  with  his  sage  compeers  he  was  rear- 


74  SKETCHES  OF  EMINENT  AMERICANS. 

ing  the  novel  edifice,  and  constructing  it  of  rafters  and  beams  of  re- 
publican simplicity  and  popular  freedom,  titled  nobility  and  ribboned 
pride  in  other  lands  mocked  and  smiled  at  it  as  unfit  for  the  storms  that 
would  surely  assail  it.  But  this  far,  under  the  blessings  of  Providence, 
amid  the  terrible  events  that  ever  and  anon  have  crushed  the  rights  of 
man  elsewhere  —  amid  angry  storms  and  the  wildest  billows  of  party 
j-age — upborne  on  the  flood,  our  heaven-protected  ark  of  freedom  still 
floats  on,  and  amid  the  tempests  at  their  darkest  hour  there  has  still 
continued  to  stream  from  it  a  steady  light  to  cheer  and  gladden  and 
encourage.  And  when  that  most  terrific  of  tempests  shall  come — 
(which  may  God  in  his  mercy  avert!) — when  domestic  fanaticism  or 
party  rage  shall  triumph — when  the  voice  of  patriotism  shall  for  a  mo- 
ment be  hushed  amid  the  hoarse  clamor  of  discordant  factions — when 
the  flood  of  fraternal  strife  and  sectional  hostility  shall  for  a  moment 
deluge  the  land — still  may  we  not  cling  to  the  hope  of  the  father  of 
his  country,  that  when  it  shall  please  heaven  to  stay  the  storm,  our 
ark  may  also  ^\\A.,its  sacred  resting-place,  and  that  may  be  on  the  glori- 
ous Union  of  the  States." 

In  the  summer  of  1848,  Mr.  Dobbin  was  importuned  to  become  a 
candidate  for  the  House  of  Commons,  in  the  Legislature  of  North 
Carolina.  He  was  elected,  and  on  his  first  appearance  in  the  house 
was  put  in  nomination  as  the  democratic  candidate  for  speaker,  in 
opposition  to  that  sterling  whig,  Robert  B.  Gilliam,  Esq.,  of  Gran- 
ville county.  For  three  days  the  balloting  was  continued  without 
an  election,  so  nearly  was  the  house  divided.  On  the  fourth  day, 
Mr.  Dobbin  authorized  his  friend  Daniel  W.  Courto,  Esq.,  of  Rock- 
ingham, to  withdraw  his  name  from  before  the  body,  whereupon 
Mr.  Gilliam  was  elected,  and  the  house  soon  after  organized.  Mr. 
Dobbin  was  placed  upon  the  judiciary  committee  and  took  a  promi- 
nent part  in  all  its  deliberations,  as  well  as  a  distinguished  part  in 
the  discussion  of  all  the  important  matters  before  the  house.  At  this 
session  of  the  legislature,  the  philanthropist  Miss  Dix  memorialized 
that  body  to  erect  an  asylum  for  the  insane.  The  memorial  was 
referred  to  a  select  committee,  of  which  John  W.  Ellis,  Esq.,  of 
Rowan,  was  chairman,  and  through  him  a  bill  was  reported  to  the 
house,  favorable  to  the  prayer  of  the  memorialist.  In  the  mean  time 
Mr.  Ellis  was  elected  one  of  the  judges  of  the  Superior  Court,  and 
forthwith  resigned  his  seat  in  the  legislature.  Some  days  after,  the 
Hon.  Kenneth  Rayner  moved  that  the  bill  introduced  by  Mr.  Ellis 
on  the  subject  of  the  asylum,  be  taken  up,  and  that  one  hundred 
thousand  dollars  be  appropriated  for  its  erection.  This  motion  Mr. 
Rayner  seconded  in  a  speech  of  great  power,  eloquence  and  beauty  ; 
but  the  motion  was  negatived  by  a  vote,  ayes  44,  noes  66,  under 
circumstances  which  induced  the  belief  the  bill  could  not  pass.  The 
amiable  and  beloved  wife  of  Mr.  Dobbin,  a  day  or  two  before  Mr. 
Rayner  spoke,  had  just  been  committed  to  her  mother  earth,  and  he 
was  not  in  attendance  on  the  house.  Miss  Dix,  anxious  for  the  fate 
of  the  bill,  and  having  confidence  in  Mr.  Dobbin's  influence  and  power 
before  the  legislature,  had  him  waited  upon,  and  re?ninded  of  his  wife'' s 
request  that  he  would  advocate  and  support  that  measure.  The  appeal 
could  not  be  withstood  and  he  promised  to  try  on  the  coming  day. 


JAMES  C.   DOBBIN,  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA.  75 

When  the  house  met,  Mr.  Dobbin  was  present.  The  bill  had  been 
reconsidered  on  the  previous  day,  and  was  pending  on  a  moUon  to 
appropriate  $25,000.  This  amount  Mr.  Dobbin  moved  to  strike  out, 
and  proposed  as  a  substitute  a  plan  to  impose  a  tax  that  in  four 
years  would  raise  the  sum  of  $85,000  ;  and  in  the  advocacy  of  the 
measure  he  delivered  one  of  the  most  eloquent,  thrilling  and  heart- 
touching  speeches  that  was  ever  delivered  in  the  capitol  of  North 
Carolina.  On  resuming  his  seat,  the  bill  passed  its  second  reading 
by  a  vote  of  101  ayes  to  10  noes.  The  rules  were  immediately 
suspended,  on  motion  of  the  Hon.  Edward  Stanley,  that  the  bill  might 
be  put  upon  its  third  reading,  which  it  passed  by  a  vote  of  91  to  9, 
and  nearly  every  one  of  the  nine  assigned  some  special  reason  why 
he  had  not  voted  in  the  affirmative.  The  Raleigh  Register,  a  whig 
paper,  in  alluding  to  Mr.  Dobbin's  speech  upon  the  asylum  bill,  says  : 
"  The  speech  of  Mr.  Dobbin,  in  favor  of  the  bill,  was  one  of  the  most 
touchingly  beautiful  efforts  that  we  have  ever  heard.  Its  noble  and 
eloquent  conception,  impressive  delivery,  and  the  circumstances 
which  prompted  and  attended  it,  all  combined  to  render  it  truly  worthy 
the  occasion." 

Another  leading  whig  paper,  the  Fayetteville  Observer,  says, 
*'  There  were  few  dry  eyes  in  the  large  assembly  of  members  and 
audience  during  Mr.  Dobbin's  speech." 

At  the  same  session  of  the  legislature,  the  Central  Rail-road  bill 
was  introduced,  which  proposed  that  North  Carolina  should  subscribe 
two  million  dollars  towards  completing  the  scheme.  The  fate  of  the 
bill  was  for  a  long  time  doubtful.  The  route  proposed  was  not  cal- 
culated directly  to  benefit  Mr.  Dobbin's  county,  and  many  contended 
the  road  would  materially  injure  his  constituents.  Mr.  Dobbin  listen- 
ed for  a  while  to  all  that  could  be  said  for  and  against  the  measure  — 
discarded  strictly  sectional  legislation  as  detrimental  even  to  the 
interests  of  those  counties  that  apparently  received  no  benefit,  and 
finally  gave  vent  to  his  liberal  and  patriotic  sentiments  in  a  speech  of 
great  power  and  beauty,  in  which  he  declared  that  the  glory,  the 
honor,  and  prosperity  of  his  native  state,  were  matters  of  far  higher 
importance  in  his  estimation,  than  any  political  distinction  that  could 
await  him,  and  whatever  the  result  might  be  upon  his  destiny,  he 
was  prepared  to  abide  it,  rather  than  that  his  beloved  state — a  pat- 
tern to  others  for  the  practice  of  honesty  and  integrity,  and  all  the 
comely  virtues  which  the  nation  felt  proud  of,  should  be  pointed  at 
as  a  state  that  slept  whilst  her  younger  sisters  labored  —  a  state 
that  retrograded  whilst  others  prospered  and  became  a  lure  to  tempt 
our  children  to  forsake  the  homesteads  of  their  fathers  and  the  state 
of  their  nativity.  The  bill  passed,  and  the  Register,  in  alluding  to 
Mr.  Dobbin's  effort  in  its  behalf,  says,  "  Mr.  Dobbin  was  frequently 
applauded  by  the  members  in  spite  of  the  chairman's  efforts  to  pre- 
serve decorum.  Indeed,  a  man  must  be  stoically  indifferent  to  the 
welfare  of  his  state,  not  to  be  moved  by  such  eloquent  appeals." 

The  influence  of  Mr.  Dobbin  in  the  legislature  was  strongly  exem- 
plified in  the  fate  of  a  bill  which  he  superintended  in  the  house  for  the 
benefit  of  his  immediate  constituents.  It  was  a  bill  for  the  erection  of  a 
plank  road  from  Fayetteville  to  Salisbury.     It  was  ihe  first  plank  road 


76  SKETCHES  OF  EMINENT  AMERICANS. 

orojectcd  m  North  Carolina,  or  indeed  in  any  southern  state  ;  and  wher 
Mr.  Dobbin  asked  for  an  appropriation  of  $80,000  from  the  state  to 
aid  in  its  completion,  the  members  smiled,  and  voted  the  proposition 
down.  On  a  future  day  he  had  the  bill  reconsidered,  and  substituted 
$120,000  for  $80,000,  and  after  elucidating  the  subject,  and  contend- 
ing that  it  would  be  a  profitable  investment  on  the  part  of  the  state, 
the  bill  passed  ;  and  every  assertion  made  by  Mr.  Dobbin  has  been 
more  than  realized,  the  state  having  made  a  net  profit  thus  far  of 
$2,647  37,  from  the  fact  that  the  dividends  and  premiums  on  the  state 
bonds  have  exceeded  the  amount  of  interest  paid  on  the  investment. 
The  result  now  is,  that  plank  roads  are  looked  upon  with  universal  fa 
vor  throughout  North  Carolina,  and  in  all  the  other  southern  states. 
At  this  session  of  the  legislature  we  believe  Mr.  Dobbin  could  have  at 
tained  a  seat  upon  the  Superior  Court  bench,  in  supply  of  one  of  the 
two  vacancies  that  existed,  but  it  is  understood  he  declined  being  put 
in  nomination,  preferring  to  practise  at  the  bar,  rather  than  to  preside 
on  the  bench,  the  more  especially  as  his  practice  yields  a  much  larger 
revenue  than  the  salary  of  a  judge.  Mr.  Dobbin  was  returned  to  the 
next  session  of  the  legislature,  and  on  the  first  ballot  was  elected  speaker 
of  the  House  of  Commons.  The  debates  were  strong  and  violent,  but 
the  impartial,  mild  and  dignified  bearing  of  the  speaker  commanded 
respect,  and  his  call  to  order,  in  a  voice  peculiarly  clear  and  distinct, 
invariably  had  the  desired  efl'ect. 

As  a  legal  ad\dser  Mr.  Dobbin  is  remarkably  cautious  in  coming  to 
conclusions,  is  a  sound  lawyer  and  safe  counsellor.  He  seldom  gives 
an  off-hand  opinion,  and  generally  consults  authorities  before  he  \en- 
tures  to  advise.  But  this  once  done,  he  is  firm  in  his  position,  and  in- 
variably sustains  himself  with  an  ability  that  generally  commands  suc- 
cess. In  North  Carolina  we  have  more  learned  jurists  than  James  C. 
Dobbin,  but  in  the  combined  character  of  lawyer  and  advocate  he  has 
few  superiors  in  the  state.  In  the  management  of  his  causes  before  a 
jury,  he  excels  in  an  eminent  degree.  Sometimes  he  addresses  them  in 
a  plain,  simple,  colloquial  strain,  which  is  best  described  under  the  ap- 
pellation of  -A.  free  and  easy  chat,  during  which  a  perfect  understanding 
between  him  and  the  jury  seems  to  be  established.  This  done,  he 
rises  as  the  occasion  demands,  and  leads  his  hearers  from  point  to 
point  with  a  directness  and  clearness  that  leaves  them  no  room  to 
mistake  his  aim.  If  the  cause  demands  a  lengthy  argument  it  is  in- 
terspersed with  episodes  of  a  pleasant  and  agreeable  character,  that 
rarely  fail  to  interest  and  please.  The  character  of  Mr.  Dobbin's 
eloquence  is  somewhat  difficult  to  describe.  It  is  always  calm,  mild, 
insinuating  and  persuasive,  resembling  usually  the  gentle  rivulet  more 
than  the  mountain  torrent,  until  some  passing  incident  suggests  a 
bright  thought  or  beautiful  figure  ;  suddenly  the  scene  is  changed,  the 
inspiration  of  the  moment  lends  a  new  charm  to  all  he  says — the 
bright  conceptions  of  his  mind  are  clothed  in  drapery  the  most  chaste 
and  beautiful,  and  whilst  his  clear  but  mellow  voice  discourses  music 
to  the  ear,  the  susceptibilities  of  his  own  nature  are  roused  into  lively 
action,  and  find  a  ready  sympathy  in  the  tender  feelings  of  the  heart. 

By  this  rare  combination  of  gifts  he  is  enabled  to  please,  win, 
captivate  and  affect  the  heart,  and  convince   the  judgment,  and  is 


JAMES  C.   DOBBIN,  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA.  77 

almost  irresistible  before  a  jury  when  the  issue  is  life  or  death.  An- 
other element  of  Mr.  Dobbin's  success  may  be  traced  to  his  skill  in 
the  examination  of  a  witness,  whether  he  is  for  or  against  his  client, 
and  the  peculiar  tact  which  he  possesses  in  the  management  of  the 
most  minute  circumstance  that  may  exist  in  his  cause.  We  may  be 
mistaken  in  our  attempt  to  disclose  the  elements  of  Mr.  Dobbin's 
success.  Be  that  as  it  may,  the  fact  is  indisputable,  no  man  of  his 
age  in  North  Carolina  has  been  so  successful  in  the  management  of 
capital  criminal  causes.  It  is  now  a  rare  thing  for  a  felon  to  be  tried 
on  his  circuit,  but  that  he  is  employed  for  the  defence.  We  have 
heard  him  prosecute,  and  have  listened  to  his  efforts,  even  then  with 
delight,  but  have  always  thought  that  he  labored  as  if  under. some 
restraint,  and  have  fancied  that  the  difference  between  his  defence 
and  prosecution  was  as  the  difference  between  the  song  of  a  sweet 
warbler  in  the  free  and  open  air,  and  the  same  bird  attempting  to  sing 
when  imprisoned  within  a  fowler's  cage.  We  cannot  better  giA^e  an 
estimate  of  Mr.  Dobbin's  eloquence,  in  his  moments  of  happy  inspira- 
tion, than  by  a  reference  to  the  part  he  bore  in  the  late  national  demo- 
cratic convention  in  Baltimore.  Forty-eight  ballots  had  been  cast, 
and  apparently  the  nomination  of  a  candidate  for  President  was  as  far 
distant  as  ever,  and  the  wildest  excitement  prevailed  throughout  the 
vast  assemblage.  For  ten  successive  ballotings  the  name  of  Franklin 
Pierce  had  fallen  still-born  upon  the  convention,  as  Virginia  on  the 
37th,  and  Maine  and  New-Hampshire  and  Virginia  on  the  38th 
ballot,  and  so  on  to  the  48th  inclusive,  had  voted  for  Mr.  Pierce. 
Still  no  enthusiasm  was  yet  created  in  his  behalf,  and  no  other  states 
seemed  ready  to  wheel  into  line.  On  the  49th  ballot,  North  Carolina 
had  determined  to  cast  her  vote  for  Franklin  Pierce,  and  James  C. 
Dobbin  was  about  to  give  it.  It  was  not  in  his  nature,  at  such  a  time, 
to  cast  a  silent  vote.  He  felt  that  the  wild  and  conflicting  elements 
needed  but  a  master-mind  to  grasp  and  wield  them  to  a  new  candi- 
date. He  made  the  attempt,  and  in  a  burst  of  eloquence  swept  the 
convention  to  the  flood,  which  led  to  Pierce's  nomination.  Even  the 
Virginia  papers  award  to  Mr.  Dobbin  the  high  credit  we  have  just 
assigned  to  him.  The  Norfolk  Argus  says,  "  Tlie  effect  of  Mr.  Dob- 
bin's speech  was  magical.  Georgia  followed  North  Carolina,  then 
came  Alabama,  and  then  state  after  state  in  rapid  succession,  until 
283  votes  were  recorded  for  the  brave  son  of  the  granite  state,  and  in 
the  twinkling  of  an  eye  all  was  sunshine  and  enthusiasm,  where  but 
an  instant  before  clouds  had  cast  their  shadows."  And  a  correspondent 
of  the  same  paper  says  :  "  You  are  right  in  according  to  the  Hon.  J. 
C.  Dobbin,  of  Fayetteville,  N.  C,  the  honor  of  creating  the  'magical 
effect'  which  carried  the  nomination  of  General  Pierce  as  with  a 
whirlwind."  And  the  Southside  Democrat,  published  in  Petersburgh, 
satisfied  that  Virginia  had  the  honor  of  first  voting  for  Mr.  Pierce, 
says,  "  It  was  the  Hon.  James  C.  Dobbin,  of  Fayetteville,  N.  C,  who 
announced  the  vote  of  North  Carolina,  and  at  the  same  time  spoke  in 
favor  of  Gen.  Pierce's  nomination.  This  speech  of  Mr.  Dobbin  was 
decidedly  the  best  speech  made  in  the  convention.  It  was  made  at  a 
critical  moment,  it  was  exactly  to  the  purpose,  it  was  eloquent  and 
stirring.      In  our  opinion  it  contributed  more  to  the  nomination  of  Gen. 


78  SKETCHES  OF  EMINENT  AMERICANS. 

Pierce  llian  all  oilier  causes  combined.      It  excited  an  enthusiasm  for 
him  which  spread  like  fire  throughout  the  southern  delegation." 

In  the  private  walks  of  life  Mr.  Dobbin  is  beloved  and  held  in  high 
estimation  by  all  who  know  him,  and  possesses  the  confidence  and 
affections  of  a  large  number  of  friends  and  admirers.  In  his  habits  he 
is  somewhat  retired,  and  seems  to  prefer  the  family  circle,  and  its 
joys  and  pleasures,  more  than  the  amusements  of  fashionable  life, 
Mr.  Dobbin,  in  1838,  married  Louisa,  daughter  of  the  late  Gabriel 
Holmes,  of  New-Hanover.  He  has  for  a  number  of  years  been  a 
consistent  member  of  the  Presbyterian  church.  He  is  yet  a  young 
man,  but  one  on  whom  the  hopes  of  many  in  North  Carolina  are  cen- 
tred, as  one  who  will  adorn  any  station — as  one  who,  if  spared,  will 
add  lustre  to  the  virtues  which  already  characterize  and  distinguish 
the  Old  North  State. 

Note. — Since  this  sketch  was  written,  Mr.  D.  has  served  another  session  in  the 
legislature,  and  been  appointed  Secretary  of  the  Navy  ;  of  the  impression  made 
by  his  appointment,  and  the  reception  it  has  met  from  the  press  and  people,  we 
need  say  nothing.  Men  of  all  parties  endorse  the  sagacity  of  the  President  in 
the  selection  he  has  made. — J.  L. 


f 


^%^^ 


Y7^u^.^-<y  <iy^  /^^^^^^^^^;^^^> 


JAMES   P.  SIMMONS,  OF  GEORGIA.  79 

JAMES  P.  SIMMONS, 

OF  LAURENCEVII.LE,  GWINNETT  COUNTY,  GEORGIA. 

The  life  of  the  individual  affording  the  subject  of  this  brief  biography, 
although  having  scarcely  reached  its  meridian  height,  may,  in  deed 
and  in  truth,  be  said  to  have  been  an  eventful  one  ;  not  by  reason 
of  the  distinction  of  high  trusts  of  political  honor  and  confidence,  im- 
posed as  the  legitimate  result  of  early  legal  and  political  advantages, 
or  by  the  aid  and  influence  of  affluent  friends ;  not  in  consequence  of 
his  attainments  in  science,  or  bounteous  supply  from  the  rich  treasury 
of  classic  lore,  nor  as  the  efl!ect  of  brilliant  exploits  upon  the  tented 
field  ni  valor  and  heroic  deeds  of  blood.  No  early  advantages  of 
wealth,  or  even  a  sufficiency  requisite  for  the  necessary  and  ordinary 
pursuits  in  life,  or  the  assistance  of  valued  friends,  were  at  his  com- 
mand. His  name  has  not  been  rendered  illustrious  by  reason  of  classi- 
cal distinction  or  collegiate  honors.  No  blood-stained  laurels  deck 
his  brow — no  well-fought  field  claims  him  as  the  mighty  conqueror. 

But  his  has  been  an  eventful  life  on  account  of  his  obscure  origim, 
the  disadvantages  under  which  he  struggled  in  early  life,  and  the 
many  vicissitudes  in  his  future  progress,  being  often  compelled  to  buffet 
the  darkest  frowns  of  adversity,  as  the  sequel  of  this  sketch  will  show. 

With  a  fixed  and  steady  purpose  within  him,  and  by  dint  of  constant 
perseverance  and  the  most  indefatigable  industry,  has  he  long  since 
triumphed  over  all  obstacles,  and  now  enjoys  a  position,  professionally, 
politically,  socially,  and  religiously,  of  which  his  numerous  friends  are 
justly  proud,  and  his  bright  example  should  be  held  up  as  one  well 
worthy  of  emulation. 

J.  P.  Simmons  is  the  grandson  of  James  Simmons,  of  Montgomery 
county,  North  Carolina,  who  was  taken  by  his  father,  at  the  age  of 
four  years,  to  the  plantation  on  which  he  lived,  and  on  which  he  died 
at  the  ripe  age  of  ninety.  He  was  about  twenty-five  years  old  at  the 
opening  of  the  war  of  the  Revolution,  and  was  one  of  the  first  patriots 
in  that  section  who  enlisted  in  the  cause  of  his  country,  and  fought 
bravely  in  her  service.  Nor  did  he  return  his  sword  to  the  scabbard 
until  liberty — full-fledged  liberty — had  perched  herself  upon  the  blood- 
stained banner  of  his  country,  and  the  stars  and  stripes  proudly  waved 
over  his  devoted  land  of  freedom. 

During  the  enactment  of  those  scenes  which  "  tried  men's  souls," 
his  house  Avas  robbed  by  the  tories  of  every  movable  article  of  value, 
the  hat  (we  deem  it  proper  to  remark  that  in  those  days  ladies  wore 
hats)  from  his  wife's  head  not  excepted. 

The  Rev.  Ignatius  West,  of  the  Baptist  Church,  who  lived  many 
vears  in  the  same  county  and  state,  but  removed  to  Franklin  county, 
Georgia,  and  died  in  the  year  1818,  was  his  maternal  grandfather. 
His  father,  Adam  Q.  Simmons,  now  of  Walker  county,  Georgia,  was 
born  in  the  year  1786,  and  was  early  apprenticed  to  the  hatter's  trade, 
serving  the  full  term  of  seven  years  ;  but  he,  having  a  predilection  for 
agricultural  pursuits,  abandoned  his  trade  early  after  the  expiration  of 


80  SKETCHES  OF  EMINENT  AMERICANS. 

his  {.erm  of  apprenticeship,  and  betook  himself  to  the  farmer's  life. 
IJe  married  Anna  West  while  as  yet  they  were  both  young.  He 
could  neither  read  nor  write,  having  gone  to  school  but  three  weeks  in 
his  life.  His  wife,  however,  having  been  the  recipient  of  more  liberal 
advantages,  was  what  was  called  in  that  day  a  good  scholar.  She  at 
once  put  him  to  study,  and  at  the  close  of  the  first  year  he  was  so  far 
advanced  as  to  be  enabled  to  read,  write,  and  make  any  such  calcula- 
tions in  figures  as  ordinarily  occur  in  business.  His  father  was  so 
much  displeased  at  his  preference  in  the  choice  of  a  wife  who  was  in 
indigent  circumstances,  instead  of  a  wealthy  Scotch  girl  of  his  selec- 
tion, but  whose  personal  appearance  was  not  likely  to  provoke  envy, 
that  he  refused  to  give  him  any  outfit  whatever  ;  hence  he  was  thrown 
upon  his  own  resources.  Nevertheless,  he  was  happy  in  the  posses- 
sion of  the  wife  of  his  choice,  and  rich  in  the  determination  of  his 
will  to  overcome  all  opposition  to  his  success  in  life. 

By  energy  and  persevering  industry,  united  with  the  strictest  economy 
on  the  part  of  both  himself  and  wife,  they  had  accmnulated  a  very 
handsome  little  estate  within  the  first  few  years  of  their  married  life. 
But  fortune,  who  is  ever  fickle,  frowned  upon  them,  and  from  causes 
wholly  beyond  their  control  very  soon  all  was  lost. 

Early  in  the  year  1815  they  picked  up  their  three  children,  to- 
gether with  their  little  remaining  property,  and,  accompanied  by  a 
brother-in-law  and  his  family,  commenced  their  journey  to  the  then 
wilds  of  the  West,  intending  to  go  to  Rutherford  county,  in  the  State 
of  Tennessee.  The  public  highways  at  that  time  through  that  moun- 
tainous country  were  very  rough,  and  having  suffered  greatly  from  the 
inclemency  of  the  weather,  and  bsen  detained  on  the  way  from  con- 
sequent accidents,  they  were  several  weeks  longer  in  the  prosecution 
of  their  journey  than  they  had  anticipated. 

Having  reached  the  summit  of  the  Cumberland  Mountains  in  Warren 
county,  Tennessee,  which  was  then  only  occupied  or  inhabited  by  a 
few  adventurers,  in  that  wild  mountainous  country,  and  in  that  forlorn 
condition  on  the  road-side,  in  the  only  shelter  which  could  be  procured, 
and  which  was  a  small  log  cabin  originally  erected  for  a  hatter's  shop, 
but  used  more  recently  as  a  horsc-stalh,  the  wife  and  mother  gave 
birth  to  the  subject  of  this  memoir,  on  the  4th  day  of  April,  1815. 

In  consequence  of  the  protracted  illness  and  precarious  condition  of 
the  mother's  health,  doubtless  superinduced  by  the  exposure  to  which 
she  had  been  and  was  still  subjected,  together  with  the  delicate  health 
of  her  infant,  the  father  was  unable  for  that  season  to  further  prose- 
cute his  journey. 

Confined  by  circumstances  over  which  he  had  no  control,  in  a  wild, 
wilderness  country,  sparsely  inhabited  by  a  population  who,  for  the  most 
part,  formed  any  other  than  good  society — their  vocation  being  princi- 
pally that  of  hunters — he  cast  about  him  with  no  ordinary  solicitude 
for  the  means  by  which  to  supply  his  helpless  and  afllicted  family  with 
the  absolute  necessaries  of  life.  The  only  means  which  presented  it- 
self to  his  mind  to  effect  this  desirable  object,  was  to  resume  the  labor 
of  his  trade.  He  soon  furnished  himself  with  a  shop  m  which  to 
work,  and  a  cabin  for  the  use  of  his  family,  which,  though  poor  indeed, 
was  a  palace  when  compared  to  the  stable  in  which  they  then  were. 


JAMES  P.   SIMMONS,  OF  GEORGIA.  81 

Here  he  remained  till  the  ensuing  fall,  when  he  completed  his  jour- 
ney to  Rutherford,  the  originally  intended  place  of  destination. 

Unable,  for  want  of  pecuniary  means,  to  purchase  land  or  stock,  and 
cultivate  a  farm,  if  he  had  one,  he  again  prosecuted  his  trade  until  the 
winter  of  1817-18,  at  that  time  making  a  fortunate  purchase  of  a 
fertile  and  valuable  section  of  land,  with  some  small  improvements 
thereon,  lying  on  both  sides  of  Bradley's  Creek,  which  divides  the 
counties  of  Rutherford  and  Wilson.  This  he  purchased  at  a  very  low 
price  and  upon  long  time.  Upon  this  farm,  on  the  Rutherford  side,  he 
settled  immediately,  where  he  resided  for  thirteen  years. 

Then  commenced  a  series  of  ten  happy  years  in  the  life  of  James 
P.  His  health,  which  had  been  very  bad  for  the  first  two  years  of  his 
life,  had  now  been  perfectly  restored.  His  father's  pecuniary  circum- 
stances had  rapidly  improved.  He  was  early  placed  in  a  good  coun- 
try school,  and  continued  in  such  with  but  little  intermission  until  the 
fall  of  1828,  his  father  still  living  in  a  log  house  with  but  two  rcoms, 
and  the  family  having  so  increased  as  to  become  quite  large.  The 
opportunities  for  study  at  home  were  not  such  as  his  now  anxiously 
inquiring  mind  desired.  To  obviate  this  difficulty,  when  about  twelve 
years  old,  he  determined  to  build  him  a  study.  For  this  purpose  he 
repaired  to  the  forest  near  by,  cut  and  carried  small  poles  upon  his 
shoulder  to  the  building-spot  selected.  With  the  assistance  of  such 
other  materials  as  were  easily  procured  about  the  premises,  he  pre- 
pared a  room  eight  by  ten  feet,  all  complete,  with  door,  window,  chim- 
ney. Sic,  which,  although  not  ostentatious  in  appearance,  yet  fulfilled 
all  the  desired  indications  for  a  private  apartment,  and  proof  against 
inclement  weather.  This  he  furnished  with  a  writing-table,  book-shelf 
and  one  chair. 

Here  were  spent  all  his  leisure  hours,  or  when  not  engaged  in  labor 
on  the  farm.  He  always  made  good  progress  in  his  studies,  and  at 
the  date  last  mentioned,  was  a  good  English  scholar.  But,  alas  !  the 
brightness  of  that  day  was  only  surpassed  by  the  darkness  of  the  night 
which  followed. 

His  father  by  that  time  had  acquired  considerable  property,  and  feel- 
ing himself  able,  was  bestowing  upon  his  children  advantages  much 
superior  to  his  own.  Education  was  with  him  an  object  of  primary 
importance.  He  was,  and  had  been  for  the  preceding  years,  laboring 
to  thoroughly  educate  his  children.  But  he  was  agahi  overtaken  by 
adversity.  His  health  failed  him,  and  being  unable  to  prosecute  his 
business,  speculations  in  which  he  was  engaged  failed.  Debts  ma- 
tured at  home,  and  money  due  abroad  could  not  be  commanded  to  meet 
them.  His  business  had  already  become  much  deranged,  yet  he  was 
not  much  alarmed  as  to  the  result. 

In  October  of  that  year,  James,  by  a  most  unlucky  accident,  had 
his  right  fore-arm  broken,  and  most  horribly  mangled.  He  was  from 
this  cause  confined  to  the  house  for  three  months,  and,  at  one  time,  in 
consequence  of  the  violence  of  the  injury,  his  life  was  despaired  of, 
and  recovery  considered  exceedingly  doubtful.  He  has  never  recovered 
the  use  of  his  right  arm,  which  is  full  three  inches  shorter  than  the  left, 
with  considerable  deformity  at  the  wrist  joint — the  hand  smaller,  and 
fingers  contracted  to  such  an  extent  as  to  be  but  imperfectly  used. 

0 


82  SKETCHES  OF  EMINENT  AMERICANS. 

At  that  time  his  mother's  health  was  also  rapidly  declining.  She 
was  his  regular  room-mate  from  the  time  of  the  injury  until,  in  January, 
1829,  when  she,  having  lived  the  life  of  the  righteous,  died  the  death 
of  such. 

By  that  time  his  father's  business  prospects  had  grown  much  worse, 
and,  in  fact,  had  become  desperate.  A  second  failure  was  inevitable. 
Within  that  year  his  estate  was  administered  by  the  officers  of  the  laAv. 

A  dark  and  impenetrable  gloom  now  overshadowed  this,  as  yester- 
day's, happy  family.  The  affliction  of  each  member  was  severe  enough 
to  humble  the  proudest  heart ;  yet  none,  perhaps,  felt  it  so  intensely  as 
James.  Left  now  a  penniless  invalid,  unable  to  obtain  a  living  by 
manual  labor,  and  destitute  of  the  means  with  which  to  complete  his 
education,  but,  more  than  all,  bereft  of  a  fond  mother  who  had  hither- 
to been  his  companion  and  comforter  in  his  hours  of  affliction,  upon 
whose  breast  he  had  ever  been  wont  to  lean  when  oppressed  by  pain, 
anxiety  or  sorrow,  and  whose  words  of  caution,  counsel,  and  encourage- 
jnent  still  sounded  in  his  ears,  his  cup  of  bitterness  was  full  to  over- 
flowing. 

She  left  eight  children — five  sons  and  three  daughters — of  whom 
four  only  now  survive,  two  sons  and  two  daughters  ;  the  subject  of  this 
sketch  and  his  brother,  next  younger  than  himself.  Dr.  Miles  A.  Sim- 
mons., of  Jackson,  Mississippi. 

Two  of  her  children  were  married  at  her  death  :  her  oldest  daughter, 
Mrs.  Bond,  who  died,  some  years  thereafter,  in  Tennessee,  and  her 
oldest  son,  Dr.  E.  Q.  Simmons,  who  had  but  recently  taken  his  degree 
in  the  medical  department  of  Transylvania  University  at  Lexington, 
Kentucky,  and  settled  himself  in  the  practice  of  medicine  near  the 
residence  of  his  father.  His  wife's  elder  brother,  Hon.  John  C.  Ed- 
wards, late  governor  of  Missouri,  having  removed  to  that  state,  gave 
such  glowing  accounts  of  the  country  as  induced  his  father  and  family 
to  follow.  Dr.  E.  Q.  Simmons,  soon  after  the  death  of  his  mother, 
at  the  solicitation  of  his  wife  and  her  friends,  removed  to  that  state 
also,  and  located  in  Franklin,  where  he  died  in  the  year  1837. 

Calvin  W.  (the  youngest  but  one),  who  was  a  young  lawyer  of  fair 
promise,  residing  at  Ringgold,  Ga.,  died  in  1849.  Caswell  F.  (the 
youngest),  who  had  but  recently  graduated  at  the  university  of  East 
Tennessee,  at  Knoxville,  and  was  preparing  for  the  ministry,  died  in 
Laurenceville,  Ga.,  while  on  a  visit  to  his  brother  James,  in  1850. 

When  the  father's  property  was  sold  in  Tennessee,  his  land  was 
purchased  by  an  old  friend,  Robert  Jarman,  who  kindly  permitted  him 
to  remain  in  possession  of  the  house  in  which  he  lived,  and  to  culti- 
vate what  small  portion  of  the  farm  his  contracted  means  would  allow, 
free  of  rent,  as  long  as  he  desired.  When  the  more  ruthless  of  his 
creditors  were  satisfied,  he  was  permitted  by  the  others  to  retain  all 
the  household  property,  and  such  provisions,  live  stock,  &c.,  as  the 
necessities  of  his  family  required.  He  had  cheerfully  submitted  every 
other  species  of  property  to  sale  in  payment  of  his  just  debts. 

It  was  now  rendered  absolutely  necessary  that  James  should  per- 
form what  little  labor  his  physical  ability  would  allow  on  the  farm,  to 
aid  in  the  support  of  the  family.  To  his  credit  it  may  truthfully  be 
said  that  he   at  once  entered  upon  his  duties  with  more  zeal  than 


JAMES   P.   SIMMON'S,  OF  GEORGIA.  83 

strength.  The.  only  opportunity  now  left  for  the  improvement  of  his 
mind  was  to  retire  to  his  little  room  at  every  spare  moment,  (which  but 
seldom  occurred,  except  at  night  and  Sundays,)  and  then  and  there 
engage  in  the  most  intense  study.  This  was  his  regular  course  of  habit 
for  the  two  succeeding  years.  During  this  time  his  father  was  absent 
from  home  almost  continually,  striving,  by  all  laudable  means  in  his 
power,  to  collect  together  the  fragments  of  his  wrecked  estate,  and  by 
seeking  other  avenues  of  gain  to  pay  the  remainder  of  his  debts,  and  to 
improve  the  condition  of  his  family. 

The  discovery  of  gold  in  the  upper  counties  of  Georgia  in  consider- 
able quantities,  about  this  time,  attracted  his  attention.  Thither  he 
repaired  promptly,  and  commenced  prospecting  for  gold,  and  operating 
and  speculating  in  mining  lots.  Having  by  this  time  married  a  second 
wife,  a  Mrs.  Trimble,  an  amiable  widow  lady,  of  Newton,  and  pur- 
chased some  mining  property  in  the  upper  part  of  Gwinnett  county, 
Georgia,  he  determined  to  remove  his  family,  as  now  constituted, 
and  concentrate  them  together  at  these  mines  as  a  temporary  arrange- 
ment.    This  plan  he  executed  in  the  spring  of  1831. 

Here  a  new  and  extensive  field  for  operation  was  opened  to  the 
subject  of  our  memoir.  His  father  found  him  of  valuable  service  in 
the  mining  business.  He  was  soon  so  far  skilled  in  his  new  vocation, 
that  he  could  with  facility  separate  the  quicksilver  from  the  sand  in 
the  washers,  and  cleanse,  flux  and  prepare  the  gold  for  market.  This 
was  his  daily  occupation  while  he  remained  at  the  mines.  Still 
deprived  of  the  inestimable  privilege  of  attending  school,  and  his 
father  being  even  worse  provided  with  house-room  than  before,  he 
resolved  to  erect  him  another  room  for  a  study.  This  he  accom- 
plished by  planting  posts  in  the  ground,  and  using  split  pine  boards 
for  weatherboards  and  roof;  and  stones,  clay-mortar  and  small  sticks 
for  materials  of  which  to  build  a  chimney.  As  to  window-glass  and 
floor,  he  neither  had  nor  coveted  either.  Here  he  closeted  himself  as 
before  as  much  as  possible. 

He  found  himself  greatly  benefited  by  his  removal,  when  establish- 
ed in  his  new  sanctum  ;  for,  whereas  in  Tennessee  his  lights  were 
made  of  dry  cedar,  now  he  could  bask  in  the  more  brilliant  light  of 
the  resinous  pine  knot — a  luxury  to  him  hitherto  wholly  unknown. 

On  the  morning  of  that  extraordinary  and  sublime  meteoric  pheno- 
menon, in  November,  1833,  he  arose,  as  was  his  custom,  two  hours 
before  daylight,  for  the  purpose  of  retiring  to  his  study.  On  opening 
the  door  to  go  out,  he  saw  the  heaven  brilliant  as  with  streams  of 
liquid  fire.  His  first  impression  was,  that  it  was  an  optical  delusion, 
but  closing  the  door  and  returning  for  a  few  moments  within  the  house, 
and  waiting  until  satisfied  that  the  evidences  of  his  visionary  organs 
could  be  relied  upon,  again  went  out,  not  to  read  of  the  heroic  ex- 
ploits of  Alexander,  or  Napoleon,  by  a  pine-knot  light,  but  to  read 
with  wonder  and  admiration  of  the  majesty  of  nature,  and  of  the  wis- 
dom and  goodness  of  her  God,  by  the  light  of  fire  which  rained  down 
from  heaven,  as  did  manna  to  the  Israelites  of  old  in  the  wilderness 
of  Sin. 

On  the  first  day  of  January,  1834,  he  went  to  Laurenceville,  (where 
he  still  resides,)  entered  the  academy   and  commenced  the  study  of 


84  SKETCHES  OF  EMINENT  AMERICANS. 

the  ancient  languages.  He  continued  in  that  institution  until  Sep- 
tember, 1835.  By  this  time  he  had  made  such  proficiency  in  his 
studies,  as  to  have  acquired  a  very  comprehensive  knovi'ledge  of  the 
Latin,  together  Avith  considerable  information  of  the  Greek  language. 
His  father,  by  this  time,  had  so  far  recovered  his  property,  as  to 
enable  him  to  resume  the  education  of  his  children,  as  he  so  much 
desired,  and  proposed  to  send  James  to  college,  in  order  that  he  might 
as  much  as  possible  recover  from  the  ill  consequences  of  having  well 
nigh  lost  five  valuable,  and  the  most  important  years  of  his  life.  In- 
asmuch, however,  as  he  had  a  liberal  offer  to  enter  a  law-ofhce,  and 
was  then  twenty  years  old,  he  declined  going  to  college.  He  re- 
solved to  enter  at  once  upon  the  arena  of  active  life,  and  to  take  hie, 
chances,  under  Providence,  with  those  who  had  enjoyed  superior  ad- 
vantages in  youth. 

He  entered  upon  the  study  of  the  law  in  the  office  of  Col.  N.  L 
Hutchins,  the  first  Monday  in  September,  1835.  Destitute  of  pecuni- 
ary means,  he  made  an  arrangement  to  be  admitted  as  early  as  practi 
cable,  and  to  receive  a  portion  of  the  profits  of  the  business  of  the 
office  as  a  partner,  sufficient  for  his  support  during  the  remainder  of  hi? 
term  of  preparation. 

He  went  at  once  into  a  regular  justice's  court  practice,  and  re- 
ceived his  first  fee  for  professional  services  the  first  week  of  his  study. 
Subsequently  he  made  all  expenses  until  admitted.  During  his  term 
of  study  he  associated  but  little  with  company  except  when  out  on 
business  of  Saturdays.  He  made  rapid  progress  in  legal  knowledge, 
by  constant  application  and  methodical  distribution  of  his  time,  and 
occupied  the  greater  portion  of  the  night  in  the  most  laborious  study. 

After  a  thorough  and  protracted  examination,  in  which  he  acquitted 
himself  very  creditably,  he  was  licensed  to  practice  in  April,  1836. 
By  this  time  his  health,  in  consequence  of  confinement  and  protracted 
study,  had  become  very  much  impaired — rather  a  general  state  of  de- 
bility without  any  fixed  or  permanent  disease.  A  short  period  of 
recreation  with  exercise  was  found  sufficient  to  restore  him  to  his 
wonted  vigor. 

He  formed  a  partnership,  as  was  agreed,  for  one  year.  Ilis  part- 
ner, Col.  Hutchins,  during  this  time,  being  in  very  bad  health,  was 
but  seldom  at  the  office,  but  sufficient  to  counsel  his  junior  partner,  re- 
vise pleadings,  &c. 

Mr.  Simmons,  during  this  term  of  agreement,  assisted  him  in  con- 
ducting his  previously  pending  cases,  took  an  active  part  in  the 
business  in  court  and  argued  most  of  the  cases  of  the  firm. 

In  the  same  year  (1834)  he  formed  an  alliance  with,  and  married  on 
the  nth  of  October,  Miss  Eliza,  daughter  of  Mrs.  Sarah  Terrell,  a 
worthy  widow  lady  residing  in  the  vicinity  of  the  village.  By  this 
marriage  he  has  five  children,  four  daughters  and  but  one  son. 

At  the  termination  of  the  limited  partner.ship,  he  opened  an  office  in 
his  own  name  under  unfavorable  circumstances — his  age  and  inexpe- 
rience being  no  commendation  to  him,  and  at  that  time  no  less  than 
four  older  and  experienced  lawyers,  who  were  established  in  business 
in  the  place,  his  competitors.  Not  doubting,  however,  his  ultimate 
success,  he  entered  into  business  on  his  own  account  with  that  indom- 


JAMES   P.   SIM.MOXS,  OF  GEORGIA.  85 

itable  courage  and  spirit  of  energy  and  industry  that  has  governed  his 
actions  throughout  his  whole  hfe.  Nor  have  his  hopes  and  expecta- 
tions been  disappointed,  but,  on  the  contrary,  fully  realized.  His  pro- 
fessional reputation  is  becoming  daily  more  extended,  and  he  has  a 
regularly  increasing  business. 

Mr.  Simmons  has  never  made  politics  a  trade,  as  is  not  unfrequent- 
ly  the  custom  with  legal  gentlemen  in  this  part  of  the  country.  He 
has,  however,  not  been  an  indifferent  spectator  to  passing  events,  but 
has  given  some  attention  to  political  subjects — was  educated  in  the 
democratic  faith,  to  whose  principles  he  still  adheres. 

In  1836,  having  ju.st  arrived  at  majority,  he  was  nominated,  without 
his  previous  knowledge  or  consent,  as  a  candidate  to  represent.  Gwin- 
nett county  in  the  state  legislature,  but  positively  refused  to  accept  the 
nomination.  He  was  warmly  solicited  by  his  political  friends,  at  each 
succeeding  year,  until  1841,  to  suffer  his  name  to  be  used  in  that  con- 
nection, at  which  time  he  consented  to  become  a  candidate,  and  was 
elected  to  the  House  of  Representatives  by  a  fair  majority,  although 
his  party  was  in  a  minority.  This  being  his  first  term  of  service  in  a 
legislative  body,  he  seldom  participated  in  debate,  and  never,  except 
when  some  subject  of  unusual  interest  w? ";  under  consideration,  or  of 
a  local  nature,  and  affecting  directly  the  interest  of  his  constituents. 
At  that  session  he  was  placed  on  the  Joint  Standing  Committee  on  the 
Judiciary,  and  afterwards,  by  the  action  of  that  body,  on  a  sub-com- 
mittee, consisting  of  three  members,  viz.  :  two  from  the  House  of  Re- 
presentatives and  one  from  the  Senate.  Hon.  Walter  T.  Colquitt 
(late  United  States  Senator  in  Congress)  was  his  associate  from  the 
House,  while  Hon.  Andrew  J.  Miller  received  the  appointment  oa  the 
part  of  the  Senate. 

The  committee  carefully  examined  and  reported  on  all  bills,  &c., 
referred  to  them,  and  consequently  met  almost  every  night  of  the  ses- 
sion for  that  purpose,  so  as  to  be  enabled  to  fill  their  seats  during  the 
day  in  their  respective  bodies.  It  is  believed  his  name  appears  on 
every  recorded  vote  of  the  session,  except  on  the  last  day,  early  in 
the  morning  of  which,  his  patience  being  exhausted,  he  left  for  home. 

He  never  would  again  consent  to  become  a  candidate,  although  fre- 
quently urged  so  to  do,  until  1847.  The  state  had  then  been  laid  off 
into  senatorial  districts.  He  was  nominated  that  year  without  solici- 
tation on  his  part,  by  a  convention  of  his  political  friends,  as  their  can- 
didate to  represent,  in  the  state  legislature,  the  39th  senatorial  district, 
composed  then  of  the  counties  of  Gwinnett  and  DeKalb.  The  nomi- 
nation was  accepted,  and  Col.  James  M.  Calhoun,  then  of  Decatur, 
but  now  of  the  city  of  Atlanta,  who  was  then,  still  is,  and  well  de- 
serves to  be,  one  of  the  most  popular  men  in  that  section  of  the  state, 
was  his  opposing  candidate.  He  gave  Mr.  Simmons  decidedly  the 
closest  race  he  has  ever  yet  had  ;  but  the  democratic  party  in  the  dis- 
trict being  largely  in  the  majority,  he  was  elected. 

On  entering  the  Senate  he  was  placed  on  two  of  the  most  impor 
tant  committees — to  wit,  those  on  banks  and  the  judiciary.  As  a 
member  of  the  former,  he  had  it  in  his  power  to  save  the  state  from  a 
loss  of  three  hundred  thousand  dollars  by  ferreting  out  and  exposing 
the  fraudulent  character  of  certain  claims  against  her  treasury,  grow- 


86  SKETCHES  OF  EMINENT  AMERICANS. 

ing  out  of  her  connection  as  a  stockholder  in  the  Bank  of  Darien, 
which  had  failed  for  a  large  amount.  An  unusual  amount  of  local 
legislation  was  required  for  that  district  at  this  session  in  consequence 
of  the  changes  produced  by  the  junction  of  the  rail-roads  in  DeKalb 
county,  the  rapid  growth  of  the  city  of  Atlanta,  &c.,  &c.,  in  all  ot 
which  he  took  an  active  part,  and  had  good  success,  as  the  journals  will 
show. 

The  crisis  through  which  our  country  has  just  passed,  and  the  dis- 
tinguished part  borne  by  Georgia  in  preserving  the  peace  and  integri- 
ty of  the  Union  ;  and,  at  the  same  time,  as  it  is  hoped  and  believed,  in 
securing  to  the  southern  states  the  quiet  enjoyment  of  their  rights  as 
constituent  members,  at  least  for  many  years,  is  fresh  in  the  memory 
of  all. 

When  the  Nashville  Convention  was  called,  and  the  cry  of  "  seces- 
sion'' raised  in  South  Carolina  and  re-echoed  back  from  Georgia,  an 
election  for  delegates  to  a  state  convention  ordered,  by  the  almost 
unanimous  voice  of  the  members  of  her  legislature  then  in  session, 
the  stoutest  hearts  were  made  to  quail,  and  the  strongest  arms  to  trem- 
ble, in  dread  apprehension  of  the  demise  of  their  country.  Mr.  Sim 
mons  was  one  of  the  first  to  raise  his  voice  on  the  side  of  peace,  nnd  to 
oppose  the  fell  spirit  of  ultraism  then  fearfully  pervading  both  North 
and  South. 

The  first  popular  meeting  (as  M^e  recollect)  held  in  Georgia  with  a 
view  to  quell  the  gathering  storm,  was  called  to  order  at  the  dinner- 
hour  on  the  day  appointed,  at  Forsyth  Superior  Court,  February  term, 
1850.  Mr.  S.  submitted  a  series  of  resolutions  favoring  mutual  con- 
cession and  compromise,  and  opposing  the  policy  of  calling  the  Nash- 
ville Convention.  These  he  supported  in  a  popular  address.  Several 
speakers  followed  on  both  sides,  some  of  whom  were  decidedly  in- 
flammatory in  style.  The  excitement  became  so  intense  that  the  pre- 
siding judge  was  prevented  from  re-organizing  the  court  that  day,  and 
the  discussion  was  continued  until  sunset. 

A  large  majority  both  of  speakers  and  hearers  then  opposed  his 
views.  The  ball  was,  however,  then  put  in  motion,  and  it  was  rolled 
over  the  state,  gathering  strength  as  it  went,  and  it  was  kept  in  motion 
until  the  election  for  delegates  to  the  State  Convention  which  met  in 
December  thereafter,  the  result  of  which  forms  a  page  in  the  history 
of  this  country  of  which  Georgia  may  justly  boast,  and  for  which  her 
sister  states  may  feel  grateful.  Mr.  S.  esteems  it  one  of  the  proudest 
events  of  his  life  that  he  was  a  member  of  that  convention  which 
adopted  the  "  Georgia  Platform." 

At  the  solicitation  of  friends,  and  after  having  received  a  unanimous 
nomination  in  a  regular  district  convention,  and  without  any  opposition, 
although  contrary  to  his  expressed  wishes,  he  again  became  a  candi- 
date, and  was  re-elected  to  the  Senate  in  1851.  In  the  business  ol 
that  session  he  also  took  an  active  and  laborious  part,  as  any  of  his  as- 
sociates would  readily  attest. 

He  has  ever  been  governed  by  the  most  liberal  policy  towards 
rail-road,  banking  and  manufacturing  companies,  considering  the  asso- 
ciation of  wealth  absolutely  necessary  to  develop  the  resources  of  the 
country.     The  State  Road,  especially,  has  received  his  most  ardent 


JAMES  P.  SIMMONS,  OF  GEORGIA.  87 

support.  He  was  one  of  the  early  projectors  and  most  efficient  direc- 
tors of  the  "  Laurenceville  Manufacturing  Company,"  and  is  at  this 
time  the  president  of  that  corporation. 

In  the  conclusion  of  these  few  desultory  observations  in  relation  to 
the  life,  history  and  public  services  of  one  whose  great  worth  justly 
entitles  him  to  the  consideration  of  a  more  able  and  gifted  pen,  it  is 
deemed  proper  to  offer  a  few  recapitulatory  and  additional  remarks. 

As  a  lawyer,  Mr.  Simmons  occupies  a  high  position  in  the  state,  and 
is  deservedly  popular.  It  is  highly  creditable  to  him  to  say  that  he 
has  never  volunteered  his  professional  services  in  conducting  a  case, 
or  left  a  client  without  counsel  because  he  was  poor — never  had  diffi- 
culty in  collecting  his  fees,  his  uniform  practice  being  to  settle  the 
amount,  if  practicable,  when  retained  in  a  case.  He  has  never  had  a 
suit  in  court  on  his  own  account,  either  as  plaintiff  or  defendant — 
never  had  a  cause,  in  which  he  was  counsel,  dismissed  at  common  law 
or  in  equity ;  or  in  error  before  the  Supreme  Court,  in  consequence  of 
having  misconceived  the  remedy  ;  or  of  error  in  pleading. 

As  an  evidence  of  his  sagacity  in  determining  the  merits  of  the 
claims,  and  the  perseverance  with  which  he  prosecutes  the  interests, 
of  his  clients,  we  may  be  permitted  to  allude  to  the  first  case  that  was 
carried  up  from  his  circuit  to  the  Supreme  Court  for  the  correction  of 
errors  and  appeals,  after  its  organization  in  184*5.  The  case  had  been 
prosecuted  seven  years  in  the  Superior  Court,  first  at  law  and  then  in 
equity,  tried  during  that  time  before  three  several  judges,  all  deciding 
against  him — used  every  effort  to  keep  the  case  alive  until  the  organi- 
zation of  the  Supreme  Court,  in  which  he  was  successful — tried  the 
case  again  in  the  Superior  Court  and  failed.  He  then  carried  it  up  to 
the  Supreme  Court,  and  was  there  sustained  on  every  point.  A  new 
trial  having  been  ordered  in  the  court  below,  he  finally  recovered. 

In  conducting  his  causes  the  character  of  Mr.  Simmons  is  prover- 
bial for  his  truthfulness  and  veracity,  never  misrepresenting  testimony 
or  dealing  in  falsehood  in  argument.  He  embodies  principles  con- 
sidered by  many  as  antagonistical  and  altogether  forming  an  anomaly — 
the  Christian  lawyer.  He  is  not  one  of  those  who  believe  the  profes- 
sion of  the  law  to  be  one  of  chicanery,  fraud  and  deception,  whose 
votaries  are  as  lordly  hirelings,  seeking  whom  they  may  devour;  or.  Shy- 
lock-like,  ever  demanding  the  pound  of  flesh.  But  he  esteems  it  as  an 
enlightened  and  liberal  profession,  inculcating,  upon  the  part  of  its 
members  and  advocates,  the  enforcement  of  the  principles  of  truth  and 
justice.  And  from  the  high  intellectual  position  and  commanding  in- 
fluence which  it  gives  them,  renders  it  peculiarly  and  favorably  adapt- 
ed to  the  enforcement  of  the  precepts  and  practice  of  the  Christian 
virtues. 

Politically,  he  occupies  an  enviable  position.  Exceedingly  modest 
in  his  pretensions,  he  has  never  enjoyed  any  of  the  favors  of  public 
confidence  at  his  own  solicitation  or  request,  but  only  such  as  by  a 
free-will  offering  have  been  bestowed  by  his  political  associates  as  a 
tribute  of  their  respect  for  his  exalted  worth. 

He  has  been  repeatedly  urged  by  his  friends  to  put  his  name  in 
nomination  for  the  national  legislature,  but  has  uniformly  refused,  pre- 
ferring professional  pursuits.     From  the  consideration  of  both  his  moral 


88  SKETCHES  OF  EMINENT  AMERICANS. 

and  intellectual  capacity,  and  the  faithfulness  with  which  he  has  dis- 
charged the  duties  of  every  important  public  trust  committed  to  his 
keeping,  it  will  require  no  great  stretch  of  the  imagination  to  predict 
that,  should  his  life  be  spared  to  old  age,  at  some  future  day  he  is 
destined  to  occupy  some  of  the  most  important  trusts  in  the  govern- 
ment. And  from  his  many  qualifications  of  both  head  and  heart, 
together  with  his  increasing  capacity  for  usefulness,  he  Avill  justly  de- 
serve the  highest  honor  in  the  gift  of  an  enlightened  and  free  people. 

His  domestic  and  social  relations  are  such  as  ever  to  have  been  the 
theme  of  admiration  of  his  friends.  Aflability  and  chasteness  comprise 
some  of  the  social  qualifications  which  have  ever  attracted  around  him 
a  crowd  of  like  associates. 

It  is,  however,  in  the  domestic  circle  that  he  shines  with  the  great- 
est brilliancy — a  truism,  the  extent  of  which  is  well  comprehended  by 
those  who  have  the  pleasure  of  his  acquaintance,  but  difficult  of  ex- 
pression upon  paper.  As  in  the  fury  and  raging  of  the  storm  we  are 
the  better  enabled  to  judge  of  the  value  of  the  calm  and  the  sunshine, 
and  in  the  dark  hour  of  adversity  to  more  fully  appreciate  the  inesti- 
mable blessings  of  prosperity  ;  so  likewise  in  those  domestic  trials  and 
afflictions  which  unhappily  so  frequently  cast  a  cloud  of  gloom  over 
the  otherwise  happy  home  and  contented  family  circle,  are  we  the  bet- 
ter prepared  to  properly  estimate  the  worth  of  that  individual  and  liead 
who,  by  bearing  up  under  the  frownings  of  Providence,  inspires  the 
more  helpless  and  dependent  with  that  hope  and  confidence  wiiicli  in- 
duce submission  and  resignation  to  their  unfortunate  condition. 

We  would  here  but  briefly  allude  to  an  incident  in  the  history  of  Mr. 
Simmons's  domestic  relations,  which  to  our  mmd,  discovered  some  of 
his  most  refined  principles  and  noblest  traits  of  character. 

Very  soon  after  his  marriage  with  Miss  T.,  much  to  the  mortifica 
lion  of  both  himself  and  friends,  it  was  evident  that  her  vision  was 
gradually  becoming  impaired.  This  regularly  increased  until  after  the 
birth  of  her  fourth  child,  when  it  terminated  in  total  blindness.  In 
this  sad  condition,  with  four  small  children,  (the  younger  an  infant,) 
just  at  that  tender  age  that  most  imperiously  demands  the  anxious  soli- 
citude and  the  mother's  watchful  care,  did  she  for  several  years  grope 
her  way  in  darkness.  But  her  affectionate  husband  was  to  her  a  part 
ner  indeed — a  participator  hi  her  joys,  but  more  especially  was  he  the 
divider  of  her  sorrows.  To  the  utmost  of  his  ability  did  he  supply  to 
his  afflicted  companion  and  their  helpless  dependencies,  the  assistance 
and  comfort  they  so  much  needed.  With  what  faithfulness  and  suc- 
cess he  discharged  those  high  and  holy  duties  we  leave  for  a  generous 
public  to  decide  in  awarding  to  him  his  just  reward  in  merited  praise. 

Thanks  to  the  surgeon's  skill,  that  difficulty  has  been  successfully 
terminated,  and  the  wife  and  mother  now  enjoys  all  the  blessings  of 
the  open  light  of  day. 

The   crowning  excellency  of  Mr.  S.'s  character  is  his  piety  and 
strict  observance  of  the  tenets  of  religion.     At  the  age  of  seventeen, 
he    united   with  the  Baptist  Church,  and    has  been    for    more    than 
twenty  years  a  pious  and  orderly  member  of  that  denomination  of  Chris 
tians.  • 

We  cannot  conclude  these  observations  and  remarks  without  firs'^ 


JAMES  P.  SIMMONS,  OF  GEORGIA.  89 

begging  the  indulgence  of  the  reader  for  their  many  imperfections,  and 
assure  him  that  they  do  not  give  full  justice  to  the  individual  to  whose 
worth  they  are  but  the  feeble  inemento.  The  author  and  himself  in 
youth  were  strangers,  but  from  earliest  manhood  have  been  acquaint- 
ances and  friends.  That  friendship  has  been  ripening  with  our  years 
until  the  sun  of  life  has  reached  its  meridian  splendor.  We  would  fain 
hope  that  same  friendship  may  go  on  increasing  and  ripening  to  ma- 
turity as  the  shades  of  evening  fall  upon  our  pathway,  until  the 
evening  twilight  of  our  existence  descends  upon  us  when  we  fall  into 
the  "  sere  and  yellow  leaf." 


rih^^^T^^^^. 


^-iTffroi'cd  ^Sw^raphical  S/atches  ofSTmn^uApienc^  • 


E.  A.  CONVERSE,  OF  CONNECTICUT.  91 

E.    A.    CONVERSE, 

or  CONNECTICUT. 

Prominent  among  those  men  who  have  made  New-England 
renowned  for  the  enterprise  and  energy  of  her  citizens,  stands  the 
subject  of  this  sketch.  Starting  in  life  with  no  other  fortune  than 
health,  hope,  and  the  noble  powers  of  mind  with  v/hich  nature  had 
endowed  him  ;  having  no  other  facilities  for  education  than  such  as  are 
afforded  to  the  sons  of  every  poor  man  by  the  New-England  common 
school  system  ;  unaided  by  influential  friends,  and  without  other  induce- 
ments to  exertion  than  such  as  are  common  to  every  youth  in  the 
land,  he  has,  by  his  own  individual  efforts,  attained  the  front  rank 
among  the  business  men  of  his  native  state.  Not  only  has  he 
succeeded  in  amassing  wealth,  but  he  has,  at  the  same  time,  won 
for  himself  an  exalted  reputation  for  intelligence,  enterprise  and 
integrity. 

Eliab  Aldex  Converse  was  born  in  Stafford,  Tolland  county,  Ct., 
March  24th,  1805,  and  was  the  eldest  of  five  children.  His  parents 
were  Josiah  and  Martha  Converse.  His  father  was  a  physician  of 
fair  reputation,  but  of  limited  practice  and  slender  means,  who  was 
unable  to  give  his  children  any  other  than  a  common  school  education. 
Alden,  whose  history  we  are  narrating,  remained  in  his  father's 
family,  assisting,  by  his  labor,  in  their  support,  and  attending  the 
district  school  as  opportunity  offered,  till  he  was  twenty  years  of  age, 
when  he  hired  himself  to  labor  in  Worcester,  Mass.,  for  the  sum  of  ten 
dollars  per  month.  At  the  expiration  of  a  year,  having  given  entire 
satisfaction  to  his  employer,  he  returned  to  his  native  town,  where  he 
has  ever  since  continued  to  reside. 

In  the  spring  of  182G  he  obtained  a  clerkship  in  the  store  of  Hyde, 
Field  &  Co.,  of  Stafford,  receiving  as  compensation  the  first  year, 
seven  dollars  per  month,  and  the  year  following,  eleven  dollars.  At 
the  expiration  of  the  second  year,  he  entered  into  the  employment  of 
J.  Hyde,  Pinney  &  Co.,  then  owners  of  the  principal  store  in  the 
town,  and  also  proprietors  of  an  iron  foundry  in  that  place.  In  this 
situation  he  remained  for  three  years,  receiving  for  his  services  during 
that  time,  respectively,  the  monthly  compensation  of  fourteen,  sixteen 
and  eighteen  dollars.  Small  as  was  this  salary,  it  was  not  appropri- 
ated entirely  to  his  own  use  ;  for  to  the  support  of  his  parents,  who  were 
in  humble  circumstances,  and  somewhat  advanced  in  life,  his  filial  na- 
ture prompted  him  largely  to  contribute.  But  though  his  wages  were 
small,  his  sedulous  attention  to  his  business,  and  his  unswerving 
fidelity  and  integrity,  won  him  the  confidence  and  respect  of  his 
employers,  while  at  the  same  time  he  acquired  a  knowledge 
of  business,  which  has  proved  invaluable  to  him  in  his  subsequent 
career? 

In  March,  1830,  he  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Adeline  Sarah 
Young,  of  Stafford,  who  has  ever  been  an  amiable,  intelligent  and 
industrious  wife.     By  her  economical  management  of  her  household, 


92  SKETCHES  OF  EMINENT  AMERICANS. 

and  the  sound  advice  she  has  given  her  husband  when  consulted  by 
him,  vi^hich  he  has  ever  done  when  about  to  take  any  step  of  im- 
portance, she  has  contributed  more  to  his  success  than  she  could  have 
done  had  she  brought  him  only  a  lieavy  dowry. 

In  the  spring  of  1831,  an  opportunity  oflering,  Mr.  Converse  pur- 
chased, on  credit,  one-third  part  of  an  iron  foundry,  for  smelting  ore, 
and  making  almost  every  kind  of  machinery  and  stove  castings.  This 
foundry  was  located  at  the  "  New  Furnace  village,"  in  Stafford,  the 
other  two-thirds  of  which  were  owned  by  Alvin  Hyde,  Esq.,  who  had 
conducted  the  business  for  some  time,  and  with  whom  Mr.  Converse 
now  entered  into  partnership,  possessing  but  little  other  capital  than 
his  good  name  and  business  capacity.  He  gave  the  business  of  the 
company  his  undivided  attention,  while  Mr.  Hyde  gave  his  good  ad- 
vice and  counsel,  and  furnished  the  necessary  pecuniary  means  for 
carrying  it  on.  This  partnership  continued  until  the  death  of  Mr. 
Hyde,  the  senior  partner,  in  1840,  when  Mr.  Converse  took  upon 
himself  the  business  of  the  foundry,  and  associated  with  him  in  the 
mercantile  business,  which  had  been  carried  on  in  connection  with  the 
foundry,  E.  G.  Hyde,  the  eldest  son  of  his  late  partner. 

In  1839,  Mr.  Converse,  in  connection  with  Mr.  .Hyde,  his  partner, 
and  others,  organized  a  joint  stock  corporation  for  the  manufacture  of 
satinets,  called  the  "  Staffordville  Manufacturing  Company,"  having  a 
capital  of  $18,000,  which  has  since  been  increased  to  $28,000.  Mr. 
Converse  was  chosen  agent  of  the  company,  which  office  he  has  filled 
to  the  present  time,  to  the  entire  satisfaction  of  all  concerned.  The 
annual  business  of  the  company  is  about  $70,000,  and  about  one-half 
of  the  stock  is  owned  by  Mr.  Converse. 

In  1845,  in  partnership  with  Parley  Howe,  of  Stafford,  under  the 
firm  of  Howe  &  Converse,  he  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of 
machinery,  which  business  still  continues  profitable  and  prosperous. 
This  company  do  a  business  of  about  $20,000  per  annum. 

In  1847,  Mr.  Converse,  in  connection  with  Nathan  Washburn,  his 

partner  and  brother-in-law,  engaged  in  an  iron  foundry  in  Rochester, 

N.   Y.     In  1849,  they   removed  their  business    from  that  place    to 

Worcester,  Mass.,  since  which  time  they  have  made  the  casting  of 

car  wheels  their  principal  business.     Commencing   with  an    annual 

business  of  about  $20,000,  it  has  now  increased  to  $150,000.     This 

firm  of  Messrs.  Converse  &  Washburn  also,  in  1850,  built  a  foundry  in 

Troy,  N.  Y.,  where   they  do  a  business  of  about  $30,000  annually. 

^  They  have  also  another  leased  in  Schenectady,  N.  Y.,  where  their 

'  annual  business  is  about  $40,000.     They  have  still  another  in  connec- 

•  tion,  or  by  contract,  with  the  "  Brandon  Iron  Works,"  in  Brandon,  Vt., 

where  all  the  iron  they  smelt  is  put  into  car  wheels,  and  where  the 

annual  business  is  about  $70,000. 

In  1850,  Mr.  Converse  associated  with  him  E.  H.  Hyde,  2nd,  his 
brother-in-law,  and  leased  of  Hyde  his  satinet  factory  in  Stafford,  at 
the  "  Old  Furnace  village,"  for  the  purpose  of  manufacturing  satinets. 
This  company  do  a  business  of  about  $70,000  per  annum.         • 

In  1851,  he  organized  another  corporate  company,  with  a  joint  stock 
capital  of  $26,000^,  known  by  the  name  of  "  Hope  Company,"  of  which 
Converse  and  Washburn  are  the  principal  owners.     The  object  of  this 


E.  A.  CONVERSE,  OF  CONNECTICUT.  93 

company  beini^  the  manufacture  of  satinets,  they  erected  a  factory 
upon  the  site  of  the  old  foundry,  which  occupies  all  the  water-power 
in  the  village,  and  is  in  all  respects  a  pattern  mill.  The  former 
business  was  thus  changed,  and  the  smelting  business  abandoned,  for 
want  of  the  mineral  for  which  Stafford  was  formerly  renowned.  The 
Hope  Company  selected  Mr.  Converse  as  their  agent,  and  are  doing  a 
business  of  $60,000  per  annum. 

Mr.  Converse  is  thus  the  financial  agent  and  manager  of  three  satinet 
mills,  the  iron  foundry,  and  the  machine  establishment  before  referred 
to.  He  keeps  the  accounts  of  each  of  these  five  different  companies, 
with  the  assistance  of  a  single  clerk,  while  he  actively  participates  in 
the  management  of  the  business  of  Converse  &  Washburn  at.  their 
various  establishments.  Yet  he  performs  these  multiplied  and  respon- 
sible duties  with  as  much  apparent  ease  to  himself,  as  most  men  are 
able  to  do,  who  have  but  the  management  of  a  single  establishment 
devolving  upon  them.  Nothing  can  better  illustrate  the  strength  of  his 
intellect,  the  power  of  concentration  he  possesses,  the  method  which 
characterizes  all  his  actions,  and  his  remarkable  capabilities  for  busi- 
ness, than  this  simple  statement  of  the  amount  of  labor  he  is  obliged 
daily  to  perform.  He  is  one  of  the  few  men  who  have  power  to  turn 
their  minds  at  will  from  one  subject  to  another,  and  to  concentrate,  all 
their  energies  on  each  in  turn. 

As  a  member  of  society,  Mr.  Converse  is  an  honorable,  high- 
minded,  moral  man,  and  is  a  liberal  contributor  to  benevolent  purposes, 
as  many  public  improvements  in  his  native  town  bear  testimony.  The 
thriving  village  in  which  he  resides,  which  has  rapidly  increased  in 
size  and  wealth,  since  its  business  came  principally  under  his  control, 
is  evidence  of  his  influence  in  the  community  where  he  lives.  Pos- 
sessing a  peculiarly  equable  disposition,  spotless  in  reputation,  urbane 
in  his  manners,  gentlemanly  in  his  address,  exerting  a  steadily  good 
influence  upon  society,  Mr.  Converse  holds  a  high  place,  as  he 
deserves,  in  the  esteem  and  affections  of  his  fellow-citizens. 

In  his  religious  views,  Mr.  Converse  is  a  Universalist,  being  a 
member  and  a  liberal  supporter  of  the  church  of  that  denomination  in 
his  native  town.  Yet  he  is  no  sectarian  ;  but  believing  as  he  does  that 
a  man  may  be  equally  pure  in  heart,  and  lead  a  Christian  life,  though 
differing  with  him  in  doctrine,  he  contributes  freely  to  the  support 
of  other  denominations  who  hold  religious  worship  in  the  village  where 
he  resides. 

In  politics,  Mr.  Converse  has  ever  been  a  firm  and  consistent 
democrat ;  and  though  he  has  represented  his  native  town  in  the 
general  assembly,  and  filled  various  public  offices  in  the  town,  he  has 
always  avoided,  rather  than  sought,  political  distinction. 

It,  is  as  a  business  man,  and  a  valuable  private  citizen,  that  we 
present  him  to  our  readers,  as  worthy  of  all  imitation.  Constant 
in  his  business,  prompt  and  energetic,  faithful  and  efficient,  never 
driven%y  his  business,  never  so  hurried  but  that  he  has  time  for  all 
the  courtesies  of  life  and  the  amenities  of  society  ;  lofty  and  upright 
in  character,  of  unsullied  reputation,  active  in  all  that  pertains  to  the 
welfare  of  the  race,  he  may  well  serve  as  a  model  to  the  young  men 
of  our  land,  whose  future  is  in  their  own  hands,  and  who  can  achieve 


94  SKETCHES  OF  EMINENT  AMERICANS. 

for  themselves  a  similar  position  in  society,  and  a  like  reputation  with 
the  subject  of  cm-  sketch. 

Such  instances,  where  men,  by  their  own  unaided  efforts,  have 
raised  themselves  from  poverty  and  obscurity  to  comparative  wealth 
and  influence,  may  lead  us  to  admire  and  cherish  our  liberal  institu- 
tions, which  thus  afford  a  free  field  for  enterprise,  ensure  to  honest 
labor  its  reward,  and  enable  talent  to  rise  to  its  true  level. 


NATHAN  TOWSON,  OF  MARYLAND.  95 

GENERAL  NATHAN  TOWSON, 

PAYMASTER-GENERAL  U.  S.  ARMY. 

The  history  of  her  patriotic  and  eminent  sons  is  an  important  part 
of  a  nation's  inheritance.  Each  generation  owes  to  those  which  follow 
it  the  record  of  the  great  names  and  the  illustrious  deeds  which  adorn 
its  era,  and  which  may  instruct  in  the  great  duties  of  life,  and  stimu- 
late to  their  zealous  and  honorable  performance.  And  of  this  record 
the  biography  of  distinguished  soldiers,  civilians  and  scholars,  is  at 
once  the  most  interesting  and  effective.  It  is  not  the  grand  outlines 
of  history  that  make  upon  the  mind  the  most  definite  and  lively  im- 
pression. It  is  its  minuter  details.  We  sympathize  less  with  masses 
than  with  individuals.  A  striking  incident  in  the  life  of  a  single  hero 
may  excite  intense  interest,  and  do  more  to  illustrate  the  elements  of 
character  and  the  principles  of  patriotism,  than  would  the  outline  his- 
tory of  a  whole  campaign,  or  of  an  entire  age.  The  general  historian 
frames  the  skeleton  ;  the  biographer  furnishes  the  flesh,  and  blood,  and 
vitality. 

The  annals  of  our  country  have  furnished  very  few  more  interesting 
subjects  of  biographical  memoir  than  the  one,  a  sketch  of  whose  life  is 
now  attempted.  The  brilliant  and  unsullied  career  of  General  Tow- 
son,  fraught  as  it  is  with  stirring  interest,  illustrates  the  tendency  of 
American  Institutions  to  call  forth  and  foster  genius  and  patriotism, 
even  when  placed  in  circumstances  that  seem  unfavorable  to  their 
development.  For  although  it  is  believed  his  lineage  may  be  traced 
to  a  most  illustrious  source,  his  parents,  though  they  lived  and  died 
highly  respected  and  beloved,  were  not  in  a  situation  that  afforded  to 
their  numerous  family  those  advantages  of  education  and  position, 
which,  in  older  countries,  are  deemed  essential  prestiges  of  success. 
He  was  their  twelfth  child  ;  and  was  born  on  the  22d  day  of  January, 
1784,  at  the  small  village  of  Towson,  about  seven  miles  from  the  city 
of  Baltimore. 

The  records  of  the  family  of  his  mother,  whose  name  was  Cromwell, 
extending  back  to  1678,  taken  in  connection  with  the  name  of  their 
family  estate  in  Maryland,  (Huntingdon,)  which  it  still  bears,  furnish 
the  strongest  presumption,  without  amounting  to  conclusive  proof,  that 
the  subject  of  this  memoir  is  a  lineal  descendant  of  the  protector  of 
England,  in  the  line  of  Richard,  son  of  Henry,  and  grandson  of  the 
great  Oliver.  But  whilst  this  question  possesses  interest  for  the  gene- 
alogist and  the  antiquarian,  our  hero  attaches  little  importance  to  it ; 
and,  had  he  been  considted,  would  probably  not  have  consented  to  this 
allusion.  And  yet  we  love  to  connect  the  inheritance  of  genius,  and 
heroism,  and  lofty  principles,  with  the  inheritance  of  blood.  We  gaze 
with  pleasure  upon  the  re-issuing  of  a  stream  that  had  passed  under 
ground,  and  which,  though  the  channel  has  been  concealed  from 
human  observation,  has  continued  to  roll  on  in  its  purity  and  strength. 
And  it  is  a  pleasure  which  nature  bids  us  covet,  and  which  religion 
approves,  to  recognize,  in  the  gallant  defender  of  American  liberty  and 


96  SKETCHES  OF  EMINENT  AMERICANS. 

rights,  a  descendant  of  the  illustrious  champion  of  the  English  Com- 
monwealth. 

At  a  small  country  school,  in  the  vicinity  of  his  father's  residence, 
the  boy,  who  became  the  hero,  received  the  rudiments  of  education  ; 
and  he  continued  with  his  parents,  engaged  chiefly  in  the  occupations 
of  husbandry,  until  his  sixteenth  year.  During  this  period  he  was 
distinguished  amongst  his  companions  by  a  sprightliness  of  humor, 
and  an  intensity  of  disposition  that  always  secured  him  a  cordial  wel- 
come in  their  circle  ;  Avhilst  his  fondness  for  reading,  and  his  diligent 
use  of  books,  tended  to  enrich  his  mind  and  impart  value  to  his  con- 
versation. He  was  particidarly  fond  of  poetry  ;  and  some  of  his  boyish 
productions  give  proof  of  genius,  that,  but  for  the  sterner  duties  to 
which  he  was  early  called,  might  have  been  eminently  successful  in 
this  kind  of  writing. 

In  1801,  at  the  age  of  seventeen,  young  Towson  was  sent  to  Ken- 
lucky,  to  take  possession  of,  and  improve  an  estate  to  which  his  father 
had  a  claim  ;  but,  finding  the  property  in  dispute,  he  soon  left  that 
state,  and  proceeded  to  Natchez,  where  he  remained  for  three  years. 
Here  his  military  spirit  began  to  exhibit  itself.  Louisiana  had  just 
been  acquired  by  our  government  from  France  ;  and  some  apprehen- 
sions were  entertained  that  opposition  would  be  made  to  our  taking 
possession  of  that  territory.  This  led  to  the  formation  of  volunteer 
companies  ;  and  young  Towson  enrolled  himself  in  a  company  oi 
artillery,  which  volunteered  to  accompany  Governor  Claiborne  to 
New-Orleans,  with  the  militia  of  the  Mississippi  territory. 

Upon  their  arrival  at  Fort  Adams,  on  the  Mississippi,  much  dissatis- 
faction arose  among  the  vohmteers,  on  account  of  the  infamous  conduct 
of  the  contractor  for  supplies,  who  issued  to  them  provisions  which 
had  been  condemned,  and  refused  by  the  regular  troops  as  unsound 
and  ofiensive.  The  privates  of  several  companies  entered  into  an 
agreement  to  place  Towson  at  their  head,  and  to  set  out  in  a  body  the 
next  morning  for  home.  He  was  not  present  at  the  conference,  but 
the  result,  together  with  the  off'er  of  the  command  of  the  malcontents, 
was  soon  communicated  to  him.  Whilst  this  indicates  the  apprecia- 
tion of  his  talents  and  abilities  for  command,  formed  by  his  comrades, 
his  conduct  upon  the  occasion  was  highly  honorable  and  patriotic. 
Instead  of  listening  to  the  whispers  of  youthful  ambition,  and  seeking 
distinction  by  accepting  the  proffered  command,  he  at  first  remonstrated 
with  his  comrades,  and  next  threatened  that  unless  they  would  abandon 
their  mutinous  purpose,  he  would  expose  them  to  the  governor,  and 
take  such  steps  as  effectually  to  thwart  their  scheme  and  to  punish  its 
projector — promising,  at  the  same  time,  that  if  they  would  quietly 
return  to  duty,  no  exposure  should  be  made,  and  he  would  himself 
wait  upon  the  governor  and  endeavor  to  secure  a  redress  of  their 
grievances.  This  was  consented  to,  and,  upon  Towson's  mediation, 
the  abuse  was  corrected.  This  incident  occurring  at  an  early  age, 
is  illustrative  of  points  of  character  that  have  marked  his  whole 
life.  Whilst  brave  almost  to  a  fault,  keenly  alive  to  injustice  and 
insult,  and  capable  of  an  indignation  terrible  to  its  objects,  all  these 
more  stormy  elements  of  character  were  tempered  by  a  lofty  regard  to 
the  claims  of  duty,  were  restrained  by  a  loyal  respect  for  lawful 


NATHAN  T0W90N.  OF  MARYLAND.  97 

authority,  and  were  guided  by  the  dictates  of  genuine  honor  and 
enlarged  patriotism.  Upon  the  return  of  the  militia  from  this  expedi- 
tion, Towson  was  appointed  first  lieutenant  of  the  company  ;  and  soon 
after  to  the  command  of  the  "  Natchez  Volunteer  Artillery."  If  the 
reader  could  realize  the  condition  of  the  southwestern  country  at  this 
period,  he  would  discover  proof  of  chivalrous  spirit  and  enterprising 
character,  in  the  very  fact  that  the  Maryland  stripling,  even  before  he 
had  attained  his  majority,  had  become  a  prominent  actor  in  its  stirring 
scenes  of  hardships  and  adventure.  There  were,  at  that  time,  no 
steamships  upon  the  western  waters.  He  descended  the  river  in  a 
fiat  boat,  exposed  to  hardships  and  perils  now  unknown.  The  great 
valley,  now  teeming  with  millions  of  population,  was  then  a  vast  .wil- 
derness, with  but  here  and  there  a  settlement  or  town.  The  red  men 
still  roamed  the  forests,  or  scoured  the  prairies  that  skirted  the  father 
of  waters  ;  and  none  but  the  most  enterprising  and  daring  were  found 
braving  the  perils  of  the  frontier. 

In  the  autumn  of  1805,  our  youthful  adventurer  returned  to  Baltimore 
county,  where  he  arrived  only  a  few  weeks  previous  to  the  death  of 
his  father.  Here  he  remained,  residing  with  his  mother,  until  her 
decease,  which  took  place  about  two  years  after  that  of  his  father. 

In  1807,  the  outrage  committed  upon  the  American  frigate  Chesa- 
peake by  the  British  ship-of-war  Leopard,  awakened  a  general  burst 
of  indignation  throughout  the  United  States  ;  and  this,  added  to  other 
difficulties,  rendering  a  war  with  Great  Britain  probable,  a  military 
spirit  was  roused  in  all  parts  of  the  country,  and  increased  attention 
was  paid  to  military  discipline.  Mr.  Towson  was  forward  and  activ«- 
in  promoting  both  ;  and,  had  his  example  been  more  generally  imitated, 
the  country  would  have  been  found,  in  1812,  in  a  better  condition  for 
a  state  of  war  than  it  was.  He  was  appointed  adjutant  of  the  7th 
Regiment  of  Maryland  Militia  ;  and  he  labored  with  such  skill  and 
assiduity  as  to  bring  that  regiment  to  a  high  state  of  discipline.  By 
this  he  gained  such  a  reputation  for  military  talents,  that,  at  the  sub- 
sequent meeting  of  the  State  Legislature,  when  it  was  deemed  neces- 
sary to  revise  the  militia  laws,  the  subject  was  referred  to  him  for 
advice  by  the  members  for  the  county. 

From  this  period  until  1812,  Mr.  Towson,  it  would  appear,  devoted 
himself  to  the  business  of  agriculture.  But  his  energetic  mind  could 
not  be  confined  wholly  to  such  pursuits.  All  his  leisure  hours  were 
employed  in  the  study  of  mathematical  science,  in  which,  and  in  sev- 
eral branches  of  mechanics,  he  made  great  proficiency.  Nor  did  he 
neglect  other  branches  of  study,  particularly  history  and  poetry.  He 
was  enthusiastic  in  his  admiration  of  Scotland's  rustic  bard,  the  gifted 
Burns,  and  about  this  time  wrote  several  pieces  for  his  friends  in 
imitation  of  his  favorite.  If  Mr.  Towson's  opportunities  for  improve- 
ment at  this  period  had  equalled  either  his  intellectual  abilities  or  his 
thirst  for  knowledge,  none  who  know  him  can  doubt  that  he  might 
have  reached  an  eminence  second  to  few  of  his  contemporaries  ;  for 
as  it  was,  with  but  imperfect  opportunities  of  self-culture,  his  attain- 
ments Avere  handsome,  and  he  brought  to  the  service  of  his  country  a 
mind  well  trained,  and  of  remarkable  vigor  and  clearness. 

On  the  15th  of  March,  1812,  Mr.  Towson  received  the  appointment 


98  SKETCHES   OF   EMINENT  AMERICANS. 

of  captain  of  artillery,  and  on  the  first  of  May  following  was  ordered 
on  the  recruiting  service.  In  this  he  was  so  diligent,  popular  and 
successful,  that  by  the  time  the  declaration  of  war  was  promulgated, 
he  had  recruited  as  fine  a  company  as  ever  entered  the  field.  And  it 
is  evidence  of  the  confidence  reposed  in  him,  by  those  who  had  the 
best  opportunities  of  knowing  his  character,  that  this  corps  was  largely 
composed  of  his  immediate  neighbors,  the  companions  of  his  youth. 

With  this  company  he  was  soon  afterwards  ordered  to  join  the  2d 
Regiment  of  Artillery,  then  at  Philadelphia,  under  the  command  of 
Lieutenant  Colonel  Scott,  now  the  commander-in-chief  of  the  army  of 
the  United  States.  Accordingly,  on  the  3d  of  August,  sailing  from 
Baltimore,  they  landed  at  Elkton,  and  thence  marched  to  Philadelphia, 
under  command  of  Colonel  Mitchell,  then  a  major  in  the  2d  Artillery. 
They  encamped  at  Mantua,  now  West  Philadelphia.  In  a  short  time 
Colonel  Scott  was  ordered  to  join  the  army  under  General  Dearborn, 
at  Greenbush,  opposite  Albany,  whither  he  repaired  with  Towson's 
and  Barker's  companies.  It  might  be  interesting,  did  the  limits  of 
this  memoir  permit,  to  contrast  the  facilities  now  afforded  for  trans- 
porting troops  with  those  enjoyed  in  1812.  Now  a  regiment  of  artil- 
lery could  be  transported  from  Baltimore  to  Greenbush  in  two  days,  or 
even  less  ;  then  it  required  a  tedious  and  toilsome  alternation  of 
inarches  and  sails  lasting  for  nearly  two  weeks. 

Besides  the  northwestern  army  imder  General  Harrison,  there  was 
one  at  this  time  stationed  at  Plattsburg,  under  Brigadier-General 
Bloomfield,  and  another  at  Buffalo,  under  Brigadier-General  Smyth  ; 
and  Colonel  Scott,  having  reasons  to  expect  that  the  latter  force  would 
soon  be  actively  employed,  had  no  sooner  arrived  at  Greenbush  than 
he  solicited  to  be  sent  with  his  artillery  to  Buffalo.  Halting  but  three 
■days  at  Albany,  to  provide  a  train  of  field-pieces,  they  pressed  on 
towards  the  scene  of  active  operations.  Arrived  at  Buffalo,  the  artil- 
lery was  at  once  ordered  to  Black  Rock,  a  short  distance  down  the 
Niagara  river,  to  protect  the  vessels  then  fitting  out  for  the  lake 
service,  under  the  command  of  Lieutenant  Elliott,  of  the  Navy.  On  the 
morning  after  their  arrival  at  Black  Rock,  two  of  the  vessels  of  the 
enemy  came  down  the  lake,  and  anchored,  one  of  them  under  the  guns 
of  Fort  Erie,  a  British  fortress  on  the  Canada  shore,  and  the  other 
immediately  above. 

The  one  highest  up  the  stream  was  the  Detroit,  the  other  the  Cale- 
donia. They  were  armed  vessels,  one  of  them  richly  laden  with  furs. 
Lieutenant  Elliott  immediately  formed  a  plan  of  capturing  these  vessels, 
and  proposed  it  to  General  Smyth  and  Colonel  Scott,  asking  the  co- 
operation of  the  army.  The  two  companies  of  artillery  volunteered  to 
a  man,  but  as  they  were  not  all  required,  it  was  determined,  by  draft, 
who  should  go.  The  artillery  furnished  thirty  men,  and  two  officers  ; 
and,  as  the  ranks  of  Captains  Towson  and  Barker  had  not  been  set- 
tled, they  cast  lots  for  the  command,  and  it  fell  upon  Captain  Towson. 
The  expedition  consisted  of  two  boats  ;  the  one  under  the  command 
of  Lieutenant  Elliott,  accompanied  by  Lieutenant  Roach  of  the  artil- 
lery, and  Lieutenant  Prestman,  of  Baltimore,  to  command  the  infantry. 
The  other  boat,  under  command  of  sailing-master  Watts,  contained 
twenty  sailors,  and  twenty-eight  artillerists,  under  Captain  Towson. 


NATHAN  TOWSON, OF  MARYLAND.  99 

The  plan  was  to  ascend  the  lake  with  muffled  oars,  drop  down  with 
the  current,  make  a  simultaneous  attack,  Elliott  upon  the  Detroit, 
"Watts  and  Towson  upon  the  Caledonia,  and  carry  them  by  boarding. 
They  set  out  from  Buflalo  creek  at  one  o'clock,  in  the  mornino-  of 
October  9,  1812.  In  ascending  the  lake,  the  boat  which  carried 
Towson's  party  got  in  advance,  and  lost  sight  of  the  other  ;  and  in 
descending  to  the  attack  was  hailed  and  fired  at  by  the  Detroit. 
Sailing-master  Watts,  supposing  that  his  pilot  had  failed  to  keep  near 
enough  to  the  shore  to  reach  the  Caledonia,  told  him  so,  and  ordered 
him  to  pass  that  vessel.  This  order  involved  the  abandonment  of  the 
part  of  the  enterprise  committed  to  this  boat.  The  pilot  insisted  that 
they  could  reach  the  enemy's  vessel  ;  but  the  sailing-master  thought  it 
was  impracticable.  At  this  critical  juncture.  Captain  Towson,  dread- 
ing the  disgrace  of  abandoning  the  enterprise  without  a  blow,  and 
convinced  that  Mr.  Watts  was  mistaken  in  opinion,  sprung  upon  one 
of  the  benches,  and  exclaimed,  "  I  take  command  of  this  boat ;  lay 
her  alongside  of  the  brig."  His  order  was  promptly  obeyed  by  the 
pilot  and  the  men,  and  in  a  few  seconds  they  were  alongside.  All  the 
grapplings,  however,  except  one,  failed  to  take  hold  of  the  enemy's 
vessel,  and  the  boat  was  borne  astern  by  the  current,  and  was  exposed 
to  a  destructive  fire  from  the  deck  and  the  cabin  windows  of  the  brig. 
The  boat  was  hauled  alongside  with  wonderful  promptness  and  energy, 
and  in  less  than  two  minutes  the  enemy  was  boarded  and  carried. 
The  attention  of  the  Detroit  was  so  engaged  by  the  assault  upon  her 
consort,  that  she  did  not  observe  the  approach  of  Lieutenant  Elliott  in- 
the  other  boat ,  so  that  he  was  enabled,  with  little  difficulty  and  with- 
out loss,  to  capture  that  vessel.  Captain  Towson's  party  sufTefed 
more  severely,  eight  being  wounded,  one  mortally  Avounded,  and  one 
killed,  making  ten  in  all.  Both  brigs  were  immediately  gotten  under 
way  ;  but,  unfortunately,  in  the  darkness  of  the  night,  both  were 
grounded  in  the  Niagara  river,  within  point  blank  shot  of  the  Canada 
shore.  Of  this  mishap  the  enemy  took  advantage,  and  at  day  dawn 
brought  up  some  field-pieces  and  opened  a  battery  upon  the  brigs. 
About  sunrise,  the  sailing-master  and  pilot  left  the  Caledonia,  with  the 
prisoners.  Captain  Towson  remained  on  board,  took  out  a  large  por-; 
tion  of  the  cargo,  consisting  of  furs,  and  about  sunset  succeeded  in 
getting  the  vessel  afloat,  although  he  and  his  men  were  exposed  to  the 
enemy's  fire,  one  of  whose  shots  came  very  near  destroying  him.  yVU 
the  sailors  except  two  having  deserted  in  landing  the  cargo,  and  Cap- 
tain Towson  being  ignorant  of  navigation,  the  vessel  again  ran  aground, 
near  Squaw  Island.  In  the  night,  Colonel  Schuyler,  who  had  just 
assumed  command  at  Black  Rock,  received  intelligence  that  the  Bri- 
tish general.  Brock,  had  crossed  the  Niagara  below  with  a  formidable 
force  to  attack  him.  Lieutenant  Elliott  sent  a  messenger  with  this 
information  to  Captain  Towson,  with  combustibles,  and  an  order  to 
burn  the  brig.  Towson  would  not  permit  this  order  to  be  executed  ; 
but  believing  his  presence  with  his  company  necessary,  in  case  of  an 
attack  on  shore,  he  left  a  faithful  non-commissioned  officer  and  two 
men  on  board,  with  orders  to  fire  and  abandon  her,  if  it  should  appear 
that  the  enemy  were  likely  to  force  our  troops  to  retire  from  Black 
Rock.     This   did  not  occur.     General  Brock  had  not  crossed  the 


100  SKETCHES  OF  EMINENT  AMERICANS. 

Niagara,  as  reported  ;  and  thus,  by  the  judicious  and  intrepid  conduct 
of  Captain  Towson,  the  Caledonia  was  reserved  to  make  one  of  the 
gallant  Perry's  fleet,  so  gloriously  triumphant  on  Lake  Erie,  on  the 
10th  of  September. 

The  part  which  the  artillerists  and  infantry  of  the  army,  who  volun- 
teered for  this  enterprise,  bore  in  its  achievement,  has  certainly  never 
yet  received  from  our  government  the  notice  which  it  merited.  Lieut. 
Colonel  Scott,  to  whom  Captain  Towson  naturally  looked  for  a  report 
of  his  participation  in  the  exploit,  was  made  prisoner  at  Queenston 
immediately  after,  and  before  he  had  an  opportunity  of  mentioning  the 
gallantry  of  the  captain  and  his  command.  The  only  report,  therefore, 
which  was  made  of  the  capture  of  the  brigs,  was  made  by  the  naval 
commander,  who,  it  would  seem,  did  not  feel  called  upon  to  state  fully 
the  part  borne  by  the  land  force.  To  him  belonged  the  credit  of  ori- 
ginating the  enterprise;  but  much  of  the  success  of  its  execution  must, 
in  justice,  be  accorded  to  the  brave  and  persevering  energy  of  Towson. 
Of  the  latter  no  notice  Avas  taken  by  the  authorities  at  Washington, 
whilst  Lieutenant  Elliott  received  the  thanks  of  Congress.  But  for 
Towson's  prompt  assumption  of  the  command  at  the  important  crisis, 
the  Caledonia  had  not  been  taken,  and  most  probably  the  whole  enter- 
prise had  failed  ;  but,  under  his  intrepid  conduct,  she  was  boarded, 
carried,  and  saved,  amid  circumstances  of  pecidiar  danger  and  diffi- 
culty ;  and  thus,  in  the  case  of  the  Caledonia,  one  avowed  object  of 
the  exploit,  the  increase  of  our  naval  force  on  the  lake,  was  completely 
gained  ;  whilst  the  other  brig  was  destroyed  by  order  of  her  captor. 
On  the  return  of  Colonel  Scott  from  captivity  some  months  afterward, 
he  addressed  the  following  letter  to  Captain  Towson's  representative 
in  Congress,  which  throws  light  upon  the  affair  above  mentioned  : 

"  Philadelphia,  February  17,  1813. 
"  Dear  Sir  : — I  have  reproached  myself  for  seeming  even  for  a 
moment  to  neglect  our  friend  Captain  Towson,  whose  merits  I  men- 
tioned to  you,  in  a  general  way,  when  I  had  the  honor  to  see  you  in 
Washington.  But  for  my  capture  at  Queenston,  and  the  constant 
bustle  in  which  I  was  engaged  for  the  three  or  four  days  preceding,  I 
should  have  made  an  official  report  of  the  affair  of  the  9th  October  at 
Black  Rock,  in  which  Captain  T.  bore  a  conspicuous  part,  both  in 
boarding  the  vessels,  and  in  the  events  which  followed.  The  expedi- 
tion was  suggested  and  fitted  out  under  the  auspices  of  Lieutenant 
Elliott  of  the  Navy,  but  not  having  a  sufficient  number  of  seamen  to 
effect  the  object,  he  applied  to  me  for  assistance.  I  turned  out  my 
detachment,  and  called  for  volunteers.  Every  man  ofl'ercd  his  services. 
A  ballot  was  then  ordered  between  Captains  Towson  and  Barker,  when 
it  fell  to  the  lot  of  the  former  to  go  on  this  service.  With  thirty  men, 
aided  by  some  seamen.  Captain  Towson  had  the  principal  share  in 
boarding  and  carrying  the  Caledonia,  with  the  loss  of  six  inen  in 
killed  and  wounded.  There  was  in  the  same  boat  with  him  a  naval 
officer,  who  had  the  principal  direction  as  to  the  manner  in  which  the 
enemy  should  be  approached  ;  but,  it  Avas  acknowledged  by  all  hands, 
that  the  artillerists  were  the  most  effective  in  the  capture.  This  is 
not  so  fully  stated  in  Lieutenant  Elliott's  report  of  the  affair  as  I  could 


NATHAN  TOWSON,  OF  MARYLAND.  101 

have  wished,  but  it  is  nevertheless  the  fact.  Captain  Tow^son  was 
one  of  the  first  on  board,  and  behaved  throughout  with  the  most 
exemplary  gallantry.  The  vessels  were  cut  out  from  under  Fort 
Erie.  At  daylight  they  had  dropped  down  the  Niagara  to  a  point 
opposite  Black  Rock,  where  the  British  commenced  a  very  heavy  fire 
upon  them.  For  the  want  of  wind  both  got  aground,  and  the  Cale- 
donia was  abandoned  by  the  seamen.  Captain  T.  remained  by  his 
prize,  and,  under  a  heavy  cannonade,  succeeded  in  taking  out  of  the 
vessel  a  valuable  cargo  of  peltry  and  furs. 

"  The  conduct  of  this  officer  was  on  all  occasions  zealous  and  inde- 
fatigable. The  part  he  bore  in  the  action  of  Queenston  is  mentioned 
in  my  report  of  that  affair.  Supposing  that  this  statement  might  be 
of  some  little  service  to  a  man,  now  distant  from  his  home,  in  the  ser- 
vice of  his  country,  or  at  least  that  it  might  afford  some  small  portion 
of  pleasure  to  one  who  is  his  neighbor  and  representative,  I  have  taken 
the  liberty  of  giving  it  your  address,  sir, 

"  And  have  the  honor  to  be, 

"  Your  most  obedient  servant, 

"  W.  Scott. 

"  The  Honorable  A.  M'Kim, 
"  In  Congress." 

Two  days  after  Captain  Towson  landed  from  the  Caledonia,  he  was 
en  route,  with  Scott's  detachment  of  artillery,  to  take  part  in  the  con- 
templated invasion  of  Canada,  and  the  battle  of  Queenston.  The 
artillery  were  the  only  troops  of  General  Smyth's  command  engaged  in 
that  battle.  They  had  come  down  the  Niagara  to  Schlosser  in  boats, 
on  the  11th  of  October,  and  thence  marched  for  Lewiston  ;  and  as 
they  approached  that  place,  before  day  on  the  morning  of  the  13th, 
they  learned,  by  the  booming  of  artillery,  and  the  glare  of  bombs  flying 
across  the  river,  that  the  embarkation  had  taken  place,  and  the  battle 
was  begim.  They  hastened  on  to  the  scene  of  action  ;  but  only  one 
boat  had  been  provided  for  the  transportation  of  artillery,  and  that 
could  carry  but  one  piece  at  a  time.  This  was  employed  by  Captain 
Gibson,  of  the  Light  Artillery,  who  had  come  up  from  Fort  Niagara, 
and  succeeded  in  getting  over  but  one  of  his  guns  and  a  caisson  ;  but 
the  boat  had  not  been  brought  back.  The  remainder  of  the  artilleiy 
was  posted  opposite  the  enemy's  batteries,  and  throughout  the  whole 
day  kept  up  a  heavy  cannonade.  About  8  o'clock  in  the  morning, 
Colonel  Scott  crossed  over  to  Queenston,  and  took  command  of  the 
regulars,  leaving  Captain  Towson  in  command  of  the  artillery. 

After  the  action.  Captain  Towson  reported  to  General  Van  Rensse- 
laer for  orders.  The  General,  whose  militia  had  already  refused  to 
cross  over  to  the  assistance  of  their  brethren,*  had  but  little  confidence 

*  We  once  heard  General  Towson  remark,  that  he  attributed  the  panic  of  the 
militia,  and  their  refusal  to  cross  over,  chiefly  to  two  causes  :  first,  to  the  fact  that 
the  wounded,  who  had  been  carried  back  to  the  American  shore,  and  laid  along  the 
beach,  presented  such  a  sight  of  horror,  and  by  their  waitings  so  alarmed  the  men, 
that  they  shrunk  from  meeting  similar  perils  ;  and,  secondly,  a  British  battery  com- 
manded the  ferry  ;  and  he  was  of  opinion  that  if  that  battery  had  been  taken,  as  it 
easily  might  have  been,  the  militia  might  have  embarked  and  the  day  been  retrieved. 


102  SKETCHES  OF  EMINENT  AMERIC.IJJ3. 

that  they  would  be  able  or  willing  to  defend  their  own  position,  and 
told  Captain  Towson  that  he  expected  to  be  obliged  to  retreat.  Tow- 
son,  however,  assured  him,  that  with  the  artillery  under  his  command, 
and  such  of  the  militia  as  would  be  willing  to  remain,  he  had  no  doubt 
of  being  able  to  defend  his  camp,  provided  he  should  have  permission 
to  dispose  of  the  force  as  he  thought  proper.  To  this  proposition  the 
General  readily  acceded,  with  the  hope  of  saving  a  large  quantity  of 
public  property,  which  must  have  fallen  into  the  hands  of  the  enem}' 
in  case  of  a  retreat.  The  next  day  after  the  battle  of  Queenston,  an 
incident  occurred,  illustrative  of  the  disinterested  magnanimity  of  the 
American  soldier,  and  of  the  singleness  of  purpose  with  which  he 
aims  to  advance  the  welfare  of  his  country,  and  of  his  brethren  in  arms. 
Colonel  Scott  had  been  taken  prisoner,  and  was  detained  at  Newark, 
on  the  shore  of  Lake  Ontario,  opposite  Fort  Niagara.  The  soldiers  of 
his  command,  encouraged  by  Captain  Towson,  conceived  the  daring 
exploit  of  effecting  his  rescue,  and  the  captain,  with  a  view  to  accom- 
plish it,  desired  to  ascertain  the  precise  locality  of  the  imprisoned 
colonel's  quarters,  and  accordingly  he  obtained  from  General  Van 
Rensselaer  permission  to  carry  a  ilag  of  truce  to  the  British  post  at 
Newark.  Several  letters  for  Colonel  Scott  having  arrived  at  camp, 
together  with  the  necessity  of  carrying  to  him  his  baggage,  all  of 
which  he  had  of  course  left  behind,  furnished  a  fair  pretext ;  and  the 
captain  crossed  over  to  Newark.  He  was  met,  upon  landing,  by  the 
British  officers,  and  conducted  to  the  place  where  he  might  have  an 
interview  with  his  colonel.  Several  Indians  walked  along  beside  him, 
one  of  whom,  in  the  presence  of  the  British  officers,  insulted  Captain 
Towson,  by  tauntingly  exhibiting  some  American  uniforms,  which  he 
had  doubtless  taken  from  the  dead  at  Queenston,  and,  reproaching 
the  "  Yankee,"  threatened  that  when  he  met  him  in  battle  he  would  in 
like  manner  strip  him.  This  outrage  was  not  rebuked  by  the  officers, 
although  offered  to  a  flag  of  truce. 

The  captain  was  permitted  a  brief  interview  with  his  captive  colonel, 
but  they  were  so  closely  watched,  that  no  opportunity  oflered  of  ascer- 
taining from  him  the  exact  position  of  his  quarters,  nor  of  communi- 
cating the  design  to  attempt  his  rescue.  But  forming  the  best  conjec- 
ture he  was  able,  he  returned  to  camp,  resolved,  at  all  hazards,  to 
make  the  attempt.  But  that  same  day,  immediately  after  liis  return  to 
camp,  a  proposal  for  an  armistice  of  three  days  came  from  the  British 
general,  and  was  acceded  to  by  General  Van  Rensselaer,  and  before 
the  close  of  the  armistice,  Scott  had  been  sent  off  to  Montreal.  On 
this  account  the  scheme  failed  ;  but  its  very  conception  shows  that 
generous  minds  rise  above  selfish  considerations  of  personal  advance- 
ment, when  the  honor  and  liberty  of  a  gallant  comrade  are  involved. 
To  a  less  magnanimous  and  a  more  calculating  mind,  the  idea  of  a 
perilous  attempt  to  rescue  a  superior  officer,  who  might  stand  in  the 
way  of  his  deliverer's  promotion,  might  not  have  commended  itself. 

Pending  the  armistice.  Captain  Towson  went  on  with  his  arrange- 
ments for  defence.  General  Van  Rensselaer  having  submitted  the 
entire  control  to  him,  he  concentrated  the  forces  of  the  encampment, 
assigned  to  the  different  regiments  their  positions,  and  gave  notice  to 
tlie  militia  that,  in  the  event  of  an  attack  by  the  enemy,  if  they  (the 


NATHAN  TOWSON,  OF  MARYLAND.  103 

militia)  attempted  to  quit  their  positions,  the  artillery,  posted  on  their 
flanks,  had  peremptory  orders  to  turn  their  fire  upon  them. 

Nothing  important  occurred  upon  the  Niagara  frontier,  during  this 
campaign,  after  the  battle  of  Queenston.  General  Smyth  returned  to 
Buflalo  ;  and  several  fruitless  attempts  were  made  to  cross  the  Niagara. 
When  the  army  went  into  winter-quarters.  Captain  Towson  had  his 
choice  either  to  remain  at  Black  Rock,  or  to  join  the  artillery  at  Wil- 
liamsville,  under  the  command  of  Colonel  Moses  Porter.  He  preferred 
the  former  ;  and,  after  getting  his  men  into  comfortable  quarters,  em- 
ployed the  time  in  the  drill  exercise,  and  in  building  and  repairing 
batteries. 

Black  Rock  was  considered  the  alarm  post  for  the  American  army  ; 
and  Colonel  Porter,  who  had   succeeded  General  Smyth  in  the  com- 
mand, had  ordered  Captain  Towson  to  fire  three  guns  in  quick  succes- 
sion, in  the  event  of  any  indication  of  an  attack  by  the  enemy.     On 
the  night  of  the  16th  March,  1813,  some  militia,  stationed  at  Buffalo, 
conceived  the  project  of  crossing  on  the  ice,  and  attacking  Fort  Erie. 
They  had  proceeded  about  half  way  across  the  straits,  when  probably 
their  hearts  failed  them,  and  suddenly  abandoning  the  enterprise,  they 
discharged  their  arms   and  returned.     This  firing  caused  Towson  to 
fire  his  alarm  guns,  and  the   enemy's  batteries  were,  in  consequence, 
immediately  opened   upon   him.     This  was   about  twelve  o'clock  at 
night ;  Towson  returned  their  fire,  and  a  very  spirited  cannonade  was 
kept  up  for  some  time.     As  this  contest  made  it  necessary  for  some  of 
the  troops  who  could  not  participate  in  it  to  leave  their  barracks,  which 
stood  in  an  exposed  situation,  and  to  stay  out  in  the  cold,  some  of  them 
who  supposed  that  the  continuance  of  the  cannonade  was  not  of  great 
importance,  procured  from  the  commanding  officer  an  order  to  be  sent 
to   Captain  Towson  to  cease  firing.     The  captain,  believing  that  this 
would  be  a  sacrifice  of  his  own  and  his  country's  honor,  by  giving  to 
the  enemy  grounds  to  say  that  they  had  silenced  his  battery,  and  to 
report  it  as  a  victory,  repaired  to  head-quarters  at  once,  and  tendered 
the  resignation  of  his  commission.     Fortunately  for  the  service,  how- 
ever, Colonel  Porter,  instead  of  accepting  the  proffered  resignation, 
ordered  Towson  to  return  to  his  post,  and  following  him  immediately, 
called  out  to  him  as  he  approached  his  battery,  "  Go  on,  Captain  Tow- 
son ;  I'll  send  you  ammunition,  and  you  shall   fire   as  much  as  you 
please."     This  was,  perhaps,  one  of  the  best  practical  lessons  in  gun- 
nery which  our  artillerists  received   during  the  war.     Towson  lost 
three  men  hy  accident.     The  loss  of  the  enemy  was  never  ascertained, 
but  it  was  supposed  to  be  considerable,  from  the  following  extract  of  a 
letter  from  Colonel  Bishop,  who  commanded  at  Fort  Erie,  to  General 
Vincent,  which  was   found  among  the  papers  of  the  latter,  after  the 
capture  6f  Fort  George  :   "  The  Americans,"  says  he,  "  have  learned 
the  art  of  using  our  shrapnel  shells  ;  one  of  their  shells,  fired  on  the 
17th,  killed  and  wounded  eight  menP 

At  the  opening  of  the  campaign  of  1813,  Captain  Towson  was  at- 
tached to  the  brigade  of  General  Winder,  and  participated  with  it  in 
the  capture  of  Fort  George.  While  this  army,  which  pursued  the 
enemy  along  the  Canadian  peninsula,  lay  at  Forty-7nile-Creek,  a  few 
days  previous  to  the  battle  of  Stony  Creek,  Captain  Towson  received 


104  SKETCHES  OF  EMINENT  AMERICANS. 

information  that  a  quantity  of  ammunition  and  military  stores  had  been 
left  by  the  enemy  on  his  retreat,  about  four  miles  from  the  American 
camp.  He  communicated  this  to  the  general,  and  asked  permission 
to  go  in  quest  of  them.  The  enemy,  meantime,  having  learned  that 
the  Americans  had  discovered  the  stores,  despatched  the  famous  Chief, 
Norton,  with  two  hundred  Indians,  to  intercept  the  party  that  might  be 
sent  to  remove  them.  Captain  Towson,  however,  succeeded  in  his 
hazardous  enterprise,  and  sent  the  stores  safely  into  camp  before  the 
arrival  of  Norton's  party,  but  remained  behind  himself,  with  six  of  his 
men,  for  the  purpose  of  making  further  search.  In  the  meantime  the 
Indians  arrived  ;  but  Towson  was  too  wary  a  soldier  to  be  taken  by 
surprise  ;  he  discovered  the  savage  enemy  before  they  could  accom- 
plish their  purpose  of  getting  between  his  party  and  the  American 
camp.  He  despatched  an  express  to  General  Winder,  with  intelli- 
gence of  his  situation,  and  proposing  to  amuse  the  Indians  and  draw 
them  towards  the  camp,  if  the  general  should  think  proper  to  order  a 
detachment  to  his  aid.  Such  an  order  was  forthwith  given  to  the 
riflemen,  and  had  it  been  promptly  executed,  there  is  little  doubt  that 
a  large  portion  of  the  Indian  force  might  have  been  killed  or  captured, 
for  having  no  idea  that  information  of  their  approach  had  been  sent  to 
the  American  camp,  they  pursued  Towson  and  his  little  party  for  a 
considerable  distance.  One  of  his  men  was  wounded  in  this  running 
flght,  and  afterwards  tomahawked  and  scalped,  the  first  act  of  brutality 
which  his  Britannic  Majesty's  allies  had  an  opportunity  of  committing 
upon  the  peninsula.  The  victim  of  this  barbarity  was  a  lovely  youth, 
of  a  little  more  than  sixteen,  that  had  sought  permission  to  go,  contrary 
to  the  captain's  advice. 

Pursuing  the  retreating  foe,  our  army  obtained  sight  of  his  rear  at 
nightfall  of  the  5th  of  June,  at  Stony  Creek,  some  t^n  miles  beyond 
the  scene  of  the  above-mentioned  incidents.  Here  the  enemy  made 
an  attack  upon  the  American  camp  about  one  or  two  o'clock  on  the 
morning  of  the  6th,  and  a  smart  action  ensued,  in  which,  although  the 
Americans  remained  masters  of  the  tield,  they  suffered  severely,  and 
both  their  generals.  Winder  and  Chandler,  were  made  prisoners.  In 
this  battle  Towson  was  the  senior  officer  of  artillery,  and  was  stationed 
about  the  centre  of  our  camp,  opposite  to  a  lane,  through  which,  in  case 
of  an  assault,  the  enemy  would  most  likely  advance.  But  the  Avriter 
is  happy  to  be  able  to  give  an  account  of  this  affair  in  General  Tow- 
son's  own  words,  having  been  permitted  to  extract  from  the  autograph 
book  of  the  late  Mrs.  Tayloe,  of  Washington,  the  following  letter  : 

"  Dear  Madam  : — In  compliance  with  your  request  that  I  would 
furnish  you  with  a  specimen  of  my  chirography,  and  that  in  doing  so 
I  would  descril)e  some  incident  connected  with  my  military  life,  I  have 
selected  the  following,  because  I  have  as  vivid  a  recollection  of  the 
facts  connected  with  it  as  if  it  had  occurred  but  yesterday  : 

"  After  the  capture  of  Fort  George,  in  1813,  the  British  retreated  to 
the  head  of  Lake  Ontario,  and  were  followed  by  the  United  States 
troops,  und^  the  command  of  Generals  Chandler  and  Winder.  My 
company  was  attached  to  the  brigade  of  the  latter.  On  the  evenmg 
of  the  5th  of  June,  we  halted  near  Stony  Creek,  and  took  up  a  position 


NATHAN  TOWSON,  OF  MARYLAND.  105 

for  the  night,  intending  to  leave  it  by  daybreak  next  morning,  with  the 
expectation  of  overtaking  the  enemy,  as  we  had  discovered  his  rear. 
The  ground  on  whicli  we  bivouacked  was  judiciously  selected.  The 
guards  were  properly  stationed,  and  the  artillery  pyt  in  position  to 
defend  the  approaches  to  our  camp.  My  command  was  assigned  to 
the  defence  of  the  road  by  which  the  enemy  would  advance,  if  he 
should  venture  to  attack  ;  but  of  that  we  had  little  expectation.  It 
was  important,  however,  that  we  should  be  prepared  for  such  an  event, 
and  accordingly  my  guns  were  charged,  and  pointed,  and  the  matches 
lighted  before  the  men  were  permitted  to  lie  down.  The  night  was 
cloudy  and  very  dark.  About  one  o'clock,  a  single  musket  was  fired 
by  the  picket  in  front  of  my  battery.  In  a  few  seconds  the  men  were 
at  their  stations,  and  the  oflicers  discussing  the  probability  of  an  attack. 
Would  the  enemy,  who  had  sacrificed  his  artillery  a«id  baggage  to 
enable  him  to  escape  us,  turn  upon  his  pursuers,  and  become  the  assail- 
ant ?  Was  it  not  more  likely  to  be  a  false  alarm  ?  At  all  events,  time 
would  be  allowed  for  the  guard  to  come  in  before  we  fired,  otherwise 
we  might  destroy  our  own  troops. 

"  At  this  moment  a  person  on  horseback  rode  briskly  up,  nor  did  he 
check  his  horse  until  the  animal's  breast  touched  the  muzzle  of  one  oi 
the  guns.  He  wore  an  overcoat  ;  but  it  Avas  evident,  from  the  chapeau 
bras,  that  he  was  an  officer,  whether  British  or  American  we  could  not 
tell.  Lieutenant  M'Donough  seized  the  bridle,  and  putting  his  sword 
to  the  officer's  breast,  demanded  who  he  was.  The  answer  was,  "  a 
friend."  The  bridle  was  loosed,  the  horse  turned  round,  the  rider's 
spurs  dashed  into  the  animal's  sides,  and  he  was  urged  back  through 
the  narrow  lane  at  his  utmost  speed.  There  was  no  longer  a  doubt ; 
this  daring  person  must  be  -a  British  officer,  leading  a  force  to  attack 
us.  He  had  thus  unexpectedly  gained  the  intelligence  that  our  artil- 
lery Avas  in  position,  and  ready  to  open  on  his  columns.  This  would 
be  most  disastrous,  and  there  was  but  one  Avay  to  prevent  it.  The 
lane,  by  which  his  troops  were  advancing,  was  intercepted  by  another, 
at  right  angles,  some  two  hundred  paces  in  front  of  my  battery.  Could 
he  gain  the  head  of  his  column,  and  wheel  it  down  this  second  lane 
before  the  artillery  fired,  his  troops  might  escape  the  slaughter  that 
otherwise  awaited  them  ;  he  could  then  attack  the  flank,  instead  of 
the  centre  t)f  our  line,  as  he  at  first  intended.  It  was  almost  a  hope- 
less case  ;  the  chances  were  more  than  an  hundred  to  one  against 
him.  The  discharge  of  either  piece  of  artillery  must  destroy  him  ; 
but  the  object  to  be  accomplished  was  of  vast  importance.  The  suc- 
cess of  the  enterprise,  the  lives  of  the  gallant  troops  he  was  leading 
depended  upon  it,  and  he  did  not  hesitate.  It  was  evident,  from  the 
quick  perception  and  fearless  decision  of  this  officer,  that  he  was  a 
master  spirit,  one  that  even  an  enemy  must  respect,  and  might  admire. 
I  did  both  ;  and  deeply  regretted,  as  I  gave  the  order  to  fire,  that  so 
gallant  a  soldier  would  be  the  victim.  But  there  was  no  alternative. 
The  column  of  attack  was  advancing  upon  the  road  by  which  he 
returned,  and  if  it  was  not  checked,  my  battery  would  be  carried,  and 
the  army  sacrificed.  We  could  hear  the  measured  tread  of  the 
infantry  advancing  in  close  column,  and  our  order  to  fire  could  not  be 
delayed.     The  instant  the  rider  applied  the  spurs  to  his  horse  I  gave 

VOL.  III. 


106  SKETCHES  OF   EMINENT  AMERICANS. 

:t.  The  pieces  of  artillery,  each  charged  with  a  round  shot,  and  a 
canister  of  musket  balls,  were  levelled  so  as  to  rake  the  lane  to  the 
extent  of  their  range.  The  matches  were  applied  to  all  ;  '  and  of 
course,'  you  will  say,  '  the  officer  who  had  the  hardihood  to  brave 
such  danger,  must  have  sacrificed  his  life  to  his  daring.'  Not  so  ; 
soldiers  are  apt  to  believe  in  destiny  ;  and  it  is,  perhaps,  owing  to  their 
witnessing  scenes  like  the  one  I  am  describing.  The  matches  were 
applied  again  and  again,  but  there  was  no  explosion.  '  Why  don't 
you  tire  ?'  '  The  guns  will  not  go  oft',  sir  !'  It  is  surprising  with  what 
rapidity  thoughts  pass  through  the  mind  when  it  is  highly  excited. 
In  an  instant  it  flashed  upon  me — '  there  has  been  treachery — the  guns 
must  be  spiked.'  This  would  account  for  the  officer  riding  so  fear- 
lessly up  to  their  muzzles,  and  returning  unscathed.  My  battery  would 
be  carried  without  resistance,  and  I  should  be  disgraced.  An  inde- 
scribable feeling  of  horror  came  over  me  ;  I  felt  faint  and  sick  at  heart, 
when  a  thought  occurred — some  of  the  guns  might  be  unspiked.  I 
sprang  to  the  nearest — felt  the  priming  ;  it  was  undisturbed  ;  there 
was  no  spike  there.  I  turned  to  the  gunner  in  a  rage  ; — '  why  did  you 
not  fire  V  '  The  powder  will  not  ignite,  sir.'  Instantly  I  got  a  port- 
jire,  lighted  it,  touched  the  guns  off  myself,  and  breathed  again.  And 
never  was  music  so  welcome  to  my  ears  as  the  report  of  the  first  gun. 
The  truth  was,  the  dews  of  the  evening  had  damped  the  powder,  and 
our  slow-match  was  damaged,  as  we  afterwards  ascertained.  All  this 
occurred  in  a  brief  space  of  time  ;  but  the  delay  was  sufficient  to 
enable  the  hero  (jf  the  night  to  return  to  his  column,  and  change  the 
direction  of  its  front  before  we  fired,  yet  not  in  season  to  save  his  rear 
companies,  and  these  suffered  severely. 

"  This  was  but  one  of  several  daring  acts  of  the  same  gallant  officer 
that  night.  He  planned  the  attack,  and  was  the  soul  of  the  enterprise. 
I  was  informed  by  one  of  the  prisoners  next  day,  that  he  was  the 
Assistant  Adjutant-General  of  the  Forces  in  Canada  ;  and  is,  I  believe, 
the  present  Major-General  Sir  John  Harvey. 

"  N.  TowsoN. 

"  Washington  City,  May  1th,  1842. 
"  Mrs.  Ogle  Tatloe." 

The  fire  of  Towson's  artillery  whilst  it  lasted  was  uncommonly 
destructive  ;  but  by  some  unfortunate  mistake,  occasioned  by  the  dark- 
ness, orders  were  brought  him  to  cease  firing.  The  order  was  imme- 
diately obeyed  ;  and  whilst  he  was  taking  advantage  of  the  cessation 
to  prepare  his  rear  for  movement,  if  it  should  become  necessary,  by 
attaching  horses  to  his  caissons,  &c.,  the  enemy  charged  his  battery. 
The  night  was  so  dark  that  they  approached  within  a  few  yards  before 
they  were  discovered.  His  men  were  not  provided  with  small  arms  ; 
and  as  the  23d  infantry,  which  had  been  posted  in  their  rear  for  their 
support,  had  abandoned  their  position  at  the  commencement  of  the 
action,  his  guns  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy  ;  several  of  his  men 
were  bayoneted,  and  seventeen  of  them  made  prisoners.  Upon  being 
informed  of  this  event.  Captain  Towson,  doubting  the  correctness  of 
the  information,  proceeded  to  Captain  Steel,  of  the  infantry,  towards  his 
battery,  for  the  purpose  of  ascertaining  the  fact,  and  were  both  made 


NATHAN  TOWSON,  OF  MARYLAND.  107 

prisoners  by  the  party  in  possession  of  his  guns.  But  Towson,  ever 
on  the  alert,  watched  a  favorable  opportunity,  and  by  a  bold  exertion 
made  his  escape.  Numerous  shots  were  fired  after  him,  but  by  zig- 
zag movements,  and  favored  by  the  darkness,  he  escaped  unhurt.  As 
soon  as  daylight  appeared,  he  regained  possession  of  two  of  his  guns, 
which  had  been  spiked  and  left  upon  the  field  ;  and  collecting  a  few 
stragglers  of  his  company,  succeeded  in  rendering  the  guns  again  ser- 
viceable. Some  red-coats  were  still  visible  in  the  woods  skirting  the 
camp  ;  but  by  firing  a  few  rounds  upon  them  they  were  induced  to 
retire  altogether,  leaving  the  Americans  masters  of  the  field. 

By  a  council  of  war,  to  which  Captain  Towson,  though  senior  officer 
of  artillery,  was  not  invited,  it  was  decided  that  the  army  should  return 
to  Forty-mile  Creek,  a  measure  against  which  he  strongly  remonstrated. 
An  accident  of  a  touching  character,  and  which  gives  us  a  glimpse  of 
the  "  lights  and  shadows"  of  a  soldier's  life,  was  related  to  us  by  Gen- 
eral Towson  himself,  not  without  emotion.  The  morning  after  the 
battle  of  Stony  Creek,  the  enemy  sent  in  a  flag,  requesting  that  a 
female  who  accompanied  it,  the  wife  of  a  sergeant  of  the  British  49th, 
might  be  informed  whether  her  husband,  who  was  missing,  was  among 
the  wounded  in  our  hands,  and  if  not,  that  she  might  be  permitted  to 
search  for  his  body  among  the  slain.  Whilst  the  officer,  who  received 
the  flag,  was  questioning  the  bearer,  a  little  dog,  which  had  accom- 
panied his  mistress,  and  seemed  to  comprehend  the  nature  of  her  sad 
errand,  ran  around  among  the  dead  bodies,  smelling  each,  until  he  dis- 
covered that  of  his  master,  when,  sitting  down  beside  it,  he  commenced 
howling  piteously.  "  There,"  shrieked  the  poor  woman,  "  there  is  my 
husband,"  and,  rushing  towards  him,  found  it  but  too  true. 

"  His  body  bathed  in  purple  gore, 

She  bore  with  her  away  ; 
And  kissed  it  cold  a  thousand  times, 
Ere  it  was  clad  in  clay." 

In  the  official  report  of  the  affair  at  Stony  Creek,  the  names  of  Cap- 
tains Archer,  Towson,  and  Leonard,  are  mentioned  with  commendation. 
The  truth  is,  that  Captain  Archer  was  with  the  party  on  the  lake 
shore,  two  miles  distant ;  and  Captain  Leonard,  although  present,  was 
not  actively  engaged ;  so  that  whatever  credit  is  due  to  the  artillery 
force  on  that  occasion  should  have  been  given  exclusively  to  Captain 
Towson's  command. 

After  the  return  of  the  army  to  Forty-mile  Creek,  the  enemy's  fleet 
made  its  appearance  on  the  morning  of  the  8th  of  June  ;  and  a  large 
schooner  was  towed  in  towards  shore,  for  the  purpose  of  destroying 
the  boats  of  the  American  army,  upon  which  the  baggage  was  in  pro- 
cess of  being  embarked.  To  prevent  the  accomplishment  of  this 
object.  Captains  Towson  and  Archer's  companies  were  ordered  to  the 
shore  with  four  field  pieces,  with  which  they  gave  the  schooner  so 
uncomfortable  a  reception  that  she  was  compelled  to  withdraAv  and- 
rejoin  the  fleet.  In  giving  an  account  of  this  affair.  General  Lewis 
appears  to  give  the  chief  credit  of  it  to  Captain  Totten,  of  the  Engi- 
neers. His  language  is,  after  mentioning  the  orders  given  to  Towson 
and  Archer,  "  I,  at  the  same  time,  sent  Captain  Totten,  of  the  Engi- 


108  SKETCHES  OF  EMINENT  AMERICANS. 

neers,  (a  most  valuable  officer,)  to  construct  a  temporary  furnace  for 
heating  shot,  which  was  prepared  and  in  operation  in  thirty  minutes. 
Her  fire  was  returned  with  a  vivacity  and  effect  (excelled  by  no  artil- 
lery in  the  world)  which  soon  compelled  her  to  retire."  The  general's 
bad  collocation  of  his  sentences  might  make  the  impression  that  this 
handsome  cannonade  was  the  result  of  this  rapidly  constructed  furnace 
for  heating  shot.  Now  the  truth  is,  that  Towson's  artillery  only  was 
within  range  of  the  schooner  ;  his  guns  only  were  used  in  the  affair  ; 
and  the  only  furnace  to  heat  shot  which  was  erected  was  a  pile  of 
rails,  which,  by  command  of  Towson,  his  men  threw  together  and  set 
on  fire,  piling  shot  upon  the  top  of  them.  But  before  the  shot  were 
heated  the  schooner  was  beaten  off.  And  yet,  although  Captain  Totten 
had  nothing  to  do  with  the  repulse  of  the  schooner,  he  was  brcvetted 
on  the  above  report  of  General  Lewis. 

At  ten  o'clock  of  the  same  day  on  which  the  above  affair  occurred, 
the  army  was  put  in  motion  and  returned  to  Fort  George.  Some  time 
after  this,  General  Boyd  assumed  command  ;  and  whilst  the  army  under 
him  lay  at  Fort  George,  the  enemy  was  in  possession  of  all  the  strong 
positions  in  the  neighborhood,  and  skirmishes  took  place,  almost  every 
day,  between  pickets  and  foraging  parties  ;  so  that  picket  duty  became 
one  of  constant  activity,  as  well  as  of  considerable  hazard.  Many  of 
the  infantry  captains,  to  whom  the  duty  especially  belonged,  being  sick 
or  absent,  and  the  remainder  of  the  army  being  quite  inactive,  it  was 
somewhat  difficult  to  find  officers  to  command  the  pickets.  Towson, 
hearing  the  commanding  general  mention  this  difficulty,  volunteered 
his  services,  and  was  the  only  artillery  oflicer  that  did  so.  The  pick- 
ets were  attacked  almost  every  night.  It  was  in  one  of  these  skir- 
mishes of  a  foraging  party  that  Captain  Towson  received  a  wound  in 
the  hand.  He  was  not  in  command,  but  had  ridden  up  to  an  artillery 
officer,  who  was  firing  at  the  enemy,  to  advise  him  to  change  the 
direction  of  his  fire,  when  a  ball  struck  his  sword,  and  glanced, 
severely  wounding  his  hand. 

When  the  army  moved  down  the  St.  Lawrence,  some  troops  were 
left  at  Fort  George,  amongst  which  were  the  2d  Artillery,  to  which 
Captain  Towson  belonged.  They  were  afterwards  marched  to  Sack- 
ett's  Harbor,  where  Towson  remained  until  April,  1814. 

He  was  then  ordered  to  the  Niagara  frontier,  and  commenced  his 
march  under  command  of  Colonel  Mitchell,  of  the  3d  Artillery,  to 
which,  for  the  time,  his  company  was  attached.  When  they  reached 
Batavia,  arrangements  were  made  which  separated  these  officers. 
Towson  continued  his  march  to  Buffalo,  while  Colonel  Mitchell  was 
ordered  to  make  a  retrograde  movement,  with  four  companies,  for  the 
protection  of  the  public  property  at  Oswego. 

Having  mentioned  the  name  of  this  gallant  officer,  our  readers  will 
pardon  us  for  detaining  them  a  few  moments  whilst  we  follow  him  to 
Oswego.  All  the  naval  ordnance  and  equipments  for  Chauncey's 
fleet,  together  with  the  provisions  for  the  army,  and  an  immense  quan- 
tity of  other  public  and  private  property,  were  deposited  at  the  falls  of 
Oswego  river.  The  British,  after  several  unsuccessful  attempts  to 
destroy  our  shipping  and  naval  materials  elsewhere,  at  length  formed 
the  design  of  seizing  those  at  Oswego  ;  and  for  this  purpose,  on  the 


NATHAN  TOWSOX,  OF  MARYLAND.  109 

5th  of  May,  Sir  James  Yeo  proceeded  with  his  whole  fleet,  and  a  force 
of  two  thousand  men  under  General  Drummond,  to  storm  the  town. 
Colonel  Mitchell,  with  little  more  than  three  hundred  inexperienced  sol- 
diers, defended  the  place  for  two  days  against  this  enormous  superi- 
ority of  force,  and  at  length  made  good  his  retreat,  leaving  the  plains 
of  ()swego  strewed  with  the  bodies  of  his  enemies.  Thus,  by  the 
consummate  skill  and  heroic  valor  of  this  truly  Spartan  band,  was  the 
object  of  the  enemy  defeated,  and  the  public  property  saved,  the  loss  of 
which  would,  in  all  probability,  have  led  to  the  fall  of  Sackett's  Harbor, 
the  capture  of  our  fleet,  and  the  destruction  of  the  whole  Niagai'a  fron- 
tier. This  gallant  officer  often  expressed  his  regret  at  the  necessity 
that  separated  him  from  Captain  Towson,  and  his  confident  belief  .that, 
with  the  aid  of  his  artillery,  he  would  have  been  able  to  maintain  his 
position  at  Oswego.  While  the  army  lay  at  Buffalo,  under  the  com- 
mand of  Brigadier  General  Scott,  Captain  Towson  (who,  at  Scott's 
request,  had  been  attached  to  his  brigade)  employed  every  available 
moment  of  his  time  in  drilling  his  company.  His  original  command 
had  suffered  so  severely  in  the  hard  service  and  dangerous  positions 
in  which  they  had  been  employed,  that  it  had  been  almost  entirely 
changed  as  regards  its  personnel,  by  new  recruits,  and  by  men  trans- 
ferred from  other  companies,  so  that  it  was  almost  wholly  without  dis- 
cipline. The  orders  of  the  commanding  general  will  show  how  well 
he  succeeded  in  introducing  exact  and  perfect  discipline.  So  great 
was  the  confidence  of  General  Scott  in  the  judgment  of  the  captain 
of  artillery,  that  he  permitted  him  to  choose  his  position  in  the  brigade  ; 
and  we  have  learned  that  neither  that  general,  nor  any  other  senior 
officer,  ever  found  it  necessary  to  give  detailed  instructions  to  Captain 
Towson  on  any  occasion.  An  intimation  of  the  thing  to  be  done  and 
of  the  general  design  was  sufficient. 

When  General  Towson  first  entered  the  army  of  his  country,  he 
entertained  the  opinion,  that  whilst  an  officer  was  not  the  proper  judge 
of  his  own  merit  and  title  to  complimentary  notice  or  promotion,  yet 
when  his  conduct  is  by  his  superior  officers  esteemed  meritorious,  and 
so  represented  to  the  department,  and  a  promise  of  brevet  or  promotion 
given,  if  the  expectations  thus  raised  are  not  duly  met,  the  officer  can- 
not, consistently  with  duty  and  proper  self-respect,  continue  in  the 
service.  Entertaining  this  opinion,  the  incidents  in  his  career,  which 
we  shall  now  mention,  whilst  they  may  awaken  the  regret  of  all  who 
love  even-handed  justice,  will  not  excite  surprise,  except  it  be  at  his 
generosity,  forbearance,  and  devotion  to  the  service  of  his  country. 
This  part  of  our  narrative  may  be  appropriately  commenced  with  the 
following  extract  of  a  letter  from  General  Winfield  Scott,  under  whose 
command  Captain  Towson  was  at  the  time,  dated  Albany,  January  27, 
1814,  and  addressed  to  Captain  Towson.  Alluding  to  the  contents  of 
a  former  letter  which  had  miscarried,  he  says  : 

"  In  that  letter  I  informed  you  of  a  conversation  had  with  the  Secre- 
tary of  War  upon  the  subject  of  the  capture  of  the  British  vessels  from 
under  Fort  Erie,  and  of  the  distinguished  part  which  you  bore  in  that 
enterprise.  He  thought  you  entitled  to  a  brevet.  This  was  on  the 
way  from  Philadelphia  to  Baltimore.  At  Washington  I  recalled  his 
attention  to  the  subject  in  a  strong  written  statement.     I  have  no  doubt 


110  SKETCHES  OF  EMINENT  AMERICANS. 

that  the   commission  will    issue,  and  I   trust  without  much   further 
delay." 

With  the  assurance  thus  given,  it  is  not  matter  of  surprise  that  the 
chivalrous  and  sensitive  mind  of  Towson  was  keenly  affected  with  a 
sense  of  virong,  when,  upon  the  arrival  at  the  camp  at  Buffalo  of  a 
new  register  of  the  army,  he  discovered  that  no  brevet  appeared  oppo- 
site to  his  name.  He  could  do  nothing  else,  accordant  with  that 
sentiment  which  is  cherished  by  every  high-minded  soldier,  than 
tender  the  resignation  of  his  commission.  Accordingly,  he  went  to 
General  Scott  and  made  the  tender,  accompanied  by  a  statement  of  his 
reasons.  Scott  coilld  not  but  accord  with  the  correctness  of  his  views  ; 
but,  unwilling  to  lose  from  the  service  an  officer  whose  science,  expe- 
rience, and  gallantry,  could  so  illy  be  spared,  he  told  him  that  a  general 
had  no  power  to  accept  of  his  resignation  ;  besought  him  to  be  patient 
and  considerate  ;  but  consented,  at  Towson's  request,  to  forward  his 
commission  to  Washington.  Meantime,  Captain  Towson  tendered  his 
services  to  General  Scott  as  a  volunteer  ;  and  the  general  assured 
him,  in  the  event  of  his  resignation  being  accepted,  he  would  give  him 
any  command  which  he  had  power  to  confer.  The  resignation  was 
never  accepted,  and  Captain  Towson  continued  to  serve  at  the  head 
of  his  company,  and  bore,  as  we  shall  see,  a  brilliant  part  in  the  stir- 
ring scenes  that  soon  followed.  He  took  a  conspicuous  part  in  the 
capture  of  Fort  Erie,  and  the  battle  of  Chippewa,  and  for  his  gallantry 
and  valuable  services  in  the  latter  was  brevetted.  Information  of  this 
brevet  did  not  reach  him  until  after  the  battle  of  Niagara,  and  pending 
the  siege  (by  the  British)  of  Fort  Erie  ;  and,  as  no  fulfilment  of  the 
promise  made  for  his  exploit  in  the  capture  of  the  Caledonia  had 
been  realized,  he  felt  himself  shut  up  to  the  necessity  of  declining  his 
brevet  for  his  conduct  at  Chippewa,  until  his  preceding  title  should  be 
recognized.  The  brevet  was  inclosed  to  General  Gaines,  then  in 
command  of  Fort  Erie  ;  who  sent  it,  with  his  congratulations,  to  Cap- 
tain Towson.  But  the  captain,  acting  upon  the  principles  which  we 
have  said  he  had  adopted,  returned  the  Brevet  to  General  Gaines,  in- 
forming him,  that  for  the  neglect  of  the  department  to  fulfil  the  promise 
of  a  brevet  on  a  former  occasion,  he  had  tendered  his  resignation, 
and  would  have  to  renew  it,  if  that  neglect  was  persevered  in  ;  but 
that  he  was  unwilling  to  leave  the  army  in  their  then  perilous  circum- 
stances. General  Gaines  complimented  him  for  the  magnanimity  of 
the  last-mentioned  determination,  and  expressed  a  hope  that  ample 
justice  would  ultimately  be  done.  Knowledge  of  these  circumstances 
coining  to  General  Brown,  under  whose  command  Towson  had  covered 
himself  with  laurels  at  Chippewa  and  Niagara,  that  officer,  without  the 
knowledge  of  Captain  Towson,  wrote  the  following  letter  to  the  Se- 
cretary of  War  : — 

"Head-Quarters,    Left    Division, 
"  Fort  Erie,  October  8,  1814. 

'  To  the  Hon.  Secretary  of  War  : 

"  Sir, — I  take  the  opportunity  of  writing  to  you,  in  behalf  of  an 
officer  of  this  division,  who,  I  fear,  will  shortly  quit  the  army.  His 
loss  I  should  regret.     Uniting  science,  courage,  and  skill,  he  has  more 


NATHAINf    TOWSON,    OF    MARYLAND.  .'11 

than  once  been  eminently  distinguished  in  the  field ;  and,  adding  to  his 
other  qualifications  the  mast  genuine  modesty  and  the  keenest  sensibi- 
lity of  feeling,  he  has  acquired,  in  a  very  high  degree,  the  esteem  and 
confidence  of  his  corps.  The  valuable  ofiicer  to  whom  I  allude  is 
Captain  Towson,  of  the  artillery.  His  military  talents  appeared  with 
the  commencement  of  the  war  ;  and  at  that  early  period  he  was  dis- 
tinguished in  the  capture  of  the  Adams  and  Caledonia  from  the  enemy, 
on  this  lake.  This  gallant  exploit  was  performed  in  conjunction  with 
Captain  Elliott  of  the  navy,  who  took  possession  of  the  first,  while 
Captain  Towson  boarded  the  latter,  and  brought  her  safely  into  port. 
The  modesty  of  Captain  Towson  forbade  him  to  urge  his  pretensions ; 
but  the  government  gave  intimation  that  a  suitable  notice  would  be 
taken  of  this  meritorious  act.  Upon  this  encouragement  he  grounded 
expectations  which  have  never  been  realized,  and  the  failure  of  which 
have  been  to  him  a  source  of  constant  mortification.  He  has  re- 
mained, however,  active  and  zealous  in  the  service  of  his  country. 
With  new  opportunity  he  has  gained  new  laurels,  and  on  the  5th  of 
July  last  received  from  the  government  the  brevet  rank  of  major.  But 
this  to  Captain  Towson  appeared  an  equivocal  reward,  calculated  to 
cast  into  oblivion  his  former  services,  and  to  compromise  his  claims. 
The  honorable  feelings  of  Captain  Towson  prompted  him  to  remain  with 
this  army  while  danger  awaited  it ;  but  as  the  enemy  who  threatened 
it  is  repulsed,  the  same  feelings  induce  him  to  retire. 

"  It  remains.  Sir,  for  you  to  preserve  to  the  army  an  officer  so  highly 

meritorious  ;  and  it  is  for  that  purpose  I  have  enlarged  so  much  upon 

the  subject.     It  would  be  highly  gratifying  if  some  arrangement  could 

be  made  that  would  place  Captain  Towson  in  a  satisfactory  situation. 

"  Very  respectfully.  Sir, 

"  Your  obedient  servant, 

"  Jac.  Brown." 

In  consequence,  as  is  supposed,  of  these  representations,  a  letter 
was  received  from  the  adjutant-general,  by  Captain  Towson,  assinring 
him  that,  in  a  re-adjustment  of  the  army  which  was  contemplated,  he 
should  receive  such  protnotion  in  the  line  as  would  more  than  compen- 
sate for  the  past  apparent  neglect  of  the  department.  Thus  assured, 
and  having  reason  to  believe  that  it  was  rather  from  a  reluctance  to 
make  too  free  with  the  brevet  rank,  than  from  indifterence  to  his  just 
claims.  Captain  Towson  accepted  the  brevet  of  lieutenant-colonel, 
tendered  him  shortly  afterwards,  for  meritorious  conduct  in  the  de 
fence  of  Fort  Erie.  But  before  Congress  had  effected  the  proposed 
remodeling  of  the  army,  and  opened  the  way  for  the  promised  promo- 
tion, peace  was  made  ;  and  although  General  Towson  has  received  two 
brevets  more  than  any  officer  in  the  army,  his  just  expectations  were 
not  seasonably  fulfilled. 

The  campaign  of  1814,  upon  the  Niagara  frontier,  was  by  far  the 
most  brilliant  of  any  of  our  northern  operations  during  that  war.  But 
little  save  disaster  had  befallen  our  troops  previous  to  this  campaign. 
Nor  18  this  to  be  wondered  at.  At  the  time  of  the  declaration  of  war 
we  were  but  little  prepared  for  hostilities.  We  had  been  at  peace  for 
thirty  years,  if  we  except  a  few  unimportant  affairs  with  the  Indian 


112  SKETCHES    OF    EMINENT    AMERICANS. 

tribes.  The  military  spirit  that  survived  the  Revolution  had  subsided, 
and  the  military  science  which  that  war  had  left  amongst  our  people 
had,  to  a  great  extent,  died  out  or  been  forgotten.  True,  a  military 
academy  at  West  Point  had  been  established  ;  but  it  was  yet  in  its 
infancy,  and  but  imperfectly  furnished  with  the  requisite  appliances 
for  imparting  military  instruction.  To  the  few  graduates  who  joined 
the  army  at  the  commencement  of  the  war,  were  we  chiefly  indebted 
for  what  knowledge  we  possessed  of  the  improvements  in  military 
science  and  art.  On  the  other  hand,  our  enemy  had  been  practising 
under  the  ablest  generals,  and  in  alliance  or  in  conflict  with  the  best 
instructed  armies  of  Europe.  Nor  was  this  all.  Our  revolutionary 
leaders  had  nearly  all  passed  away ;  and  it  required  time  and  oppor- 
tunity to  develop  the  military  talent  of  the  country.  We  had,  it  is 
true,  our  Browns  and  our  Jacksons,  but  their  names  were  unknown  to 
the  people.  Not  so  the  British  army.  War  had  been  their  trade  for 
a  quarter  of  a  century ;  its  soldiers  had  been  trained,  and  were  led  by 
the  heroes  of  many  a  well-fought  field.  In  viiew  of  these  facts,  it  is 
not  surprising  that  we  should  sufi'er  disaster  at  the  commencement. 
The  wonder  is  that  we  did  not  become  wholly  discouraged,  and  seek 
an  inglorious  peace.  But  He  who  orders  all  things,  and  who  had 
brought  our  country  through  so  many  perils,  kindly  ordained  that  love 
of  country  should  prevail  over  these  various  causes  of  discouragement, 
and  over  mere  mercenary  considerations,  and  stimulate  our  soldiers  to 
retrieve  the  disasters  which  attended  the  opening  of  the  war. 

To  this  result  no  division  of  the  army  more  gloriously  contributed 
than  that  which  defended  the  Niagara  frontier,  and  invaded  the  Canadian 
peninsula.  This  division  was  first  commanded  in  this  campaign  by  Major 
General  Brown,  and  was  composed  of  Scott's  and  Ripley's  brigades  ;  a 
battalion  of  artillery,  under  Major  Hindman  ;  Harris'  dragoons,  a  small 
detachment,  and  Towson's  company  of  artillery,  attached  to  Scott's 
command  ;  Porter's  volunteers,  and  a  few  Indians  joined,  after  the  main 
body  had  crossed  into  Canada. 

It  was  arranged  that  the  division  should  leave  Buff'alo  Creek,  which 
falls  into  the  lake  at  the  city  of  the  same  name,  on  the  night  of  the  3d 
of  July  ;  that  Scott's  command  should  land  upon  the  bank  of  the  Nia- 
gara river,  below  Fort  Erie,  Ripley's  brigade  on  the  lake  shore  above 
the  fort;  and  the  volunteers,  baggage,  &c.,  cross  at  Black  Rock,  in 
Scott's  returned  boats.  Captain  Towson,  aware  that  the  quarter-mas- 
ter's "department  would  not  be  able  to  furnish  as  much  transportation  as 
would  be  needed,  took  the  precaution  to  have  scows  built,  for  carrying 
his  artillery,  by  the  artificers  of  his  company.  The  remainder  of  the 
artillery,  depending  upon  the  quarter-master  for  means  of  transport,  were, 
as  might  have  been  expected,  in  the  then  state  of  that  department,and  of 
the  resources  of  the  country,  disappointed,  and  were  compelled  to  wait 
until  Towson's  scows  were  brought  back  by  the  quarter-master;  of  course 
it  was  late  in  the  day  before  they  could  cross  the  Niagara  ;  and  they  did 
not  participate,  as  did  Towson's  artillery,  in  the  capture  of  Fort  Erie. 

The  boat  carrying  General  Scott  and  stafl^,  with  a  small  detachment 
of  infantry,  and  Towson's  company  of  artillery,  was  in  advance  of  the 
column.  It  was  Scott's  intention  to  land  first,  and  make  prisoners  of 
the  British  picket,  stationed  a  short  space  below  the  point  of  landing : 


NATHAN  TOWSON,  OF  MARYLAND.  113 

and  in  his  anxiety  to  be  first  on  shore,  he  leaped  from  the  boat  too  soon, 
and  came  near  being  drowned.  He,  however,  escaped  with  a  thorough 
duckmg. 

After  disembarking,  the  artillery  took  a  position  such  as  to  place 
them  at  the  head  of  the  column  when  formed,  and  awaited  its  landing. 
Immediately  after  landing,  the  column  proceeded  to  invest  Fort  Erie, 
which  was  summoned  to  surrender.  Tovvson  had  planted  his  artillery  in 
such  a  position  as  to  aid  in  enforcing  this  summons  ;  but  after  firing  a  few 
shots,  the  garrison,  commanded  by  Major  Burke,  obeyed  the  summons. 
Beside  the  commandant,  several  other  officers,  and  one  hundred  and 
seventy  men,  marched  out,  surrendered  themselves  as  prisonei's  of  war, 
stacked  their  arms,  and  were  sent  across  the  river  to  the  American 
shore.  Thus  was  a  fort,  with  a  considerable  amount  of  military  stores, 
captured  in  a  few  hours,  and  without  loss  to  the  Americans. 

We  must  here  mention  an  incident,  which  illustrates  the  bravery  and 
devotion  to  the  service  of  the  men  of  Towson's  command.  His  com- 
pany consisted  of  ninety-eight  non-commissioned  officers  and  privates, 
besides  the  usual  number  of  commissioned  officers,  all  of  whom  except 
one  were  reported  for  duty,  and  ready  to  take  the  field.  That  one, 
John  Harrigan,  had  been  seriously  burnt,  by  the  premature  discharge 
of  a  blank  cartridge,  whilst  ramming  home,  and  had  been  sent  to  the 
hospital.  John  was  considered  too  unwell  to  join  the  company,  and 
when  the  roll  was  called,  he  was  reported  absent.  "  An'  sure  I'm  here, 
Sir" — said  John  himself,  stepping  up  to  the  captain.  "  Yes,  John,  but 
I  fear  notable  to  accompany  us,"  replied  his  commander.  "  Well,  Sir, 
if  I  dont  feel  able  when  we  land,  I  can  come  back  in  the  boats."  Upon 
that  condition  the  captain  consented.  As  Towson's  company  was  the 
only  one  of  Scott's  command  that  had  a  flag,  he  gave  that  in  charge  to 
Harrigan,  and  said,  "  John,  I  shall  get  the  General's  permission  to  hoist 
that  upon  the  flag-staff'  at  Fort  Erie  when  it  surrenders."  The  cap- 
tain's anticipations,  about  the  surrender  of  the  fort,  and  the  need  for 
John's  flag,  proved  to  be  correct ;  and  he  was  called  upon  to  produce 
it.  "  An'  sure.  Sir,  I  haven't  got  it,"  said  he.  "  And  what  did  you  do 
with  it  ?"  "  I  laid  it  down,  sir,  over  there  in  the  field,  where  our  first 
battery  was  formed  ;  you  know  I  could  do  more  good  with  the  sponge 
and  rammer  in  my  hand,  than  carrying  about  wid  me  that  bit  o'  striped ' 
cloth."  A  soldier  was  sent  to  look  for  John's  despised  "  bit  o'  striped 
cloth ;  it  was  found,  and  had  the  honor  of  being  the  first  American 
flag  hoisted  by  Brown's  division  in  Canada. 

After  the  taking  of  the  fort.  Captain  Towson  had  a  fair  opportunity,  had 
he  been  disposed  to  embrace  it,  of  retaliating  the  insult  which  was 
permitted  to  be  oflered  to  him  by  the  Indians,  at  Newark,  when  under 
the  protection  of  a  flag.  As  he  passed  a  group  of  our  Indians,  in  com- 
pany with  one  of  the  British  officers  who  had  just  surrendered,  some 
of  the  Indians  seemed  disposed  to  treat  the  officer  as  Towson  had  been 
treated  on  the  occasion  before  mentioned.  But  Towson  promptly  pre- 
vented it,  and  a  guard  was  sent  with  the  prisoner  to  the  boat  that  was 
to  convey  him  over  the  river,  with  orders  to  protect  him  from  Indian 
insult. 

Fort  Erie  being  captured,  a  small  garrison  was  detailed  to  keep 
possession  of  it ;  and  it  was  put  under  the  command  of  that  gallant 


114  SKETCHES   OF   EMINENT  AMERICANS. 

officer,  Lieut.  McDonoiigh,  of  Towson's  company.  The  brave  Mc- 
Donough  subsequently  fell  in  the  defence  of  that  fort  during  the  siege. 
The  remainder  of  the  army  moved  down  the  Niagara,  in  the  direction 
of  Chippewa,  the  same  afternoon.  Next  day  they  proceeded,  and 
halted  at  Street's  Creek,  about  a  mile  and  a-half  above  where  the  Chip- 
pewa empties  into  the  Niagara.  The  road  from  Fort  Erie  to  Chip- 
pewa passes  along  the  margin  of  the  river,  and  crosses  Street's  Creek, 
by  a  bridge  near  its  mouth.  The  planks  had  been  removed  from  this 
bridge  by  the  enemy,  leaving  the  sleepers  bare.  There  was  a  small 
house  near  the  bridge,  occupied  by  a  British  picket-guard.  The  river 
and  the  road  make  a  sharp  bend  to  the  left,  opposite  to  this  house.  All 
the  guard  were  looking  out  of  the  back  windows,  at  Scott's  column  ap- 
proaching. Towson's  company  was  in  advance,  and  himself  in  ad- 
vance of  his  company.  As  soon  as  his  horse's  tramp  was  heard  by 
those  in  the  house,  they  caught  up  their  arms,  and  each,  as  he  passed 
out  of  the  door,  levelled  and  fired  at  him.  He  was  calling  to  the  ad- 
vance guard  of  the  column  tO  hurry  up  ;  and  also  oflering  easy  terms 
to  the  enemy's  picket,  if  they  would  surrender.  But  they  did  not 
comply  with  his  request ;  and  as  they  effected  a  crossing  over  the 
naked  sleepers  of  tile  bridge  before  our  light  troops  came  up,  they  es- 
caped. There  were  five  or  six  of  the  guard  still  in  the  house  as  the 
captain  rode  up  to  the  door,  each  of  whom  fired  at  him  ;  and  it  is  most 
surprising  that  not  one  of  their  shots  took  serious  eflect,  although  he 
was  not  more  than  thirty  or  forty  paces  distant.  Had  the  same  num- 
ber of  Americans  fired  at  a  British  officer,  the  result,  most  likely,  would 
have  been  very  different.  It  was  not  until  the  next  day,  that  Captain 
Towson  discovered  that  one  of  the  balls  had  passed  between  the  strap 
and  the  padding  of  his  epaulette. 

On  the  next  day,  July  5th,  was  fought  the  important  battle  of  Chip- 
pewa. Important,  not  so  much  on  account  of  the  numbers  of  troops 
engaged,  as  on  account  of  the  history  and  character  of  the  several 
combatants,  and  the  moral  and  military  impression  produced  by  it  in 
both  armies,  and  upon  both  the  hostile  nations.  The  battle  was  fought 
upon  a  perfect  plain,  without  any  obstruction  or  intervening  object 
between  the  two  lines,  except  the  creek,  which  our  army  had  to  cross 
in  the  face  of  the  enemy.  The  forces  engaged  were  the  elite  of  the 
British  and  the  American  armies.  The  British  having  the  advantage 
of  numbers,  offered  battle,  and  were  confident  of  success.  The  Ame- 
ricans, well  drilled,  but  without  experience  in  actual  fight,  accepted  the 
offer.  So  far  as  an  impartial  spectator  could  judge,  from  appearances 
and  probabilities,  the  English  were  likely  to  prove  successful. 

The  artillery  of  the  British  army  consisted  of  two  light  twenty-four 
pounders  ;  that  of  the  Americans,  of  two  six-pounders.  As  soon  as 
the  British  artillery  reached  what  was  supposed  to  be  point-blank 
range,  it  commenced  firing,  and  with  remarkable  precision  ;  the  first 
shot  disabling  oui  howitzer,  and  throwing  it  out  of  action.  At  this  mo- 
ment Scott's  column  was  passing  the  bridge  over  Street's  Creek,  the 
planks  having  been  replaced.  It  passed  in  quick  time,  Towson  follow- 
ing, and  promptly  taking  position  on  the  right  flank,  at  what  he  sup- 
posed to  be  the  point  blank  distance  of  his  six  pounders,  from  the 
enemy's  artillery.     The  fire  of  both  batteries  was  destructive  :  but  the 


NATHAN  TOWSON,  OF  MARYLAND.  115 

contest  did  not  continue  long,  before  Towson  blew  up  the  enemy's 
ammunition  wagons,  with  his  shrapnell  shells  ;  disabled  and  silenced 
their  guns,  and  killed  several  of  their  horses.  In  this  condition  the 
British  artillery  was  taken  from  the  field,  by  their  dragoons.  At  this 
juncture  General  Scott  rode  up  and  directed  Towson's  attention  to  the 
enemy's  line,  about  to  charge  our  own,  and  said,  "  I  look  to  the  artil- 
lery to  prevent  it."  Towson's  guns  were  immediately  turned  upon  the 
advancing  line  of  the  enemy,  and  the  direction  of  our  fire  being  oblique, 
raked  them  with  terrible  effect.  Jessup,  advancing  at  the  same  time 
upon  the  English  line,  it  broke  and  fled,  pursued  by  the  Americans  un- 
til it  crossed  the  Chi[)|iewa. 

The  impression  made  upon  our  country  by  this  battle,  and  its  effect 
upon  the  morale  of  both  armies,  was  very  decided,  and  of  the  greatest 
advantage  to  our  c:uise.  It  was  now  perceived  that  American  soldiers, 
other  things  being  equal,  could  meet  and  beat  equal  or  greater  numbers 
of  the  best  European  troops.  In  this  instance,  they  had  beaten  supe- 
rior numbers,  upon  an  open  plain,  without  any  advantages  of  position  ; 
and  that  not  by  manoeuvring,  but  by  stern,  inflexible  courage,  and  the 
superior  accuracy  of  their  fire.  It  was  also  proved  that  Americans 
could  encounter  superior  numbers — nay,  advance  to  meet  them — 'when 
the  weapon  relied  upon  was  the  boasted  British  hmjonct,  and  that  with 
this,  the  favorite  weapon  of  the  English  army,  the  unfaltering  daring  of 
our  men  could  preserve  unbroken  lines,  and  compel  veteran  troops 
to  leave  the  field.  After  this  battle,  the  prestige  of  the  British  bayonet 
was  gone.  General  Scott  deserves  much  credit  for  the  precision  and 
perfection  of  his  drill,  by  which  he  prepared  his  brigade  to  meet  the 
foe,  in  this  sort  of  conflict.  It  gave  his  men  confidence  in  their  offi- 
cers and  in  each  other  ;  but  most  of  his  success  was  attributable  to  the 
materiel  of  his  command.  Upon  inferior  men,  animated  by  less  lofty 
motives,  his  lessons  would  have  been  to  a  great  extent  lost.  The  com- 
manders of  victorious  armies  often  receive  more  than  their  share  of 
praise  :  and  this  is  especially  true  of  an  American  army.  The  supe- 
rior intelligence,  and  the  nobler  and  more  patriotic  impulses,  of  the 
men  who  till  our  ranks,  enhances  the  results  of  discipline.  A  general 
can  see  and  order  but  a  small  portion  of  the  army  upon  the  battle 
field.  Much  must  be  left  to  the  discretion  of  subordinates  ;  and  the 
army  that  embraces  the  most  intelligence,  other  things  being  equal, 
must  prove  victorious.  Hence  the  importance  of  our  national  military 
academy.  It  has  filled  the  country  with  persons  qualified  to  instruct 
others  in  the  art  of  war,  and  to  lead  them  to  battle.  The  late  war  with 
Mexico  furnished  abundant  proof  of  this.  What  would  our  command- 
ers of  volunteer  divisions  and  brigades  have  done,  without  their  Staffs, 
composed  entirely  of  graduates  of  West  Point,  many  of  whom  were 
qualified  to  command  armies. 

The  official  report  of  the  battle  of  Chippewa  thus  mentions  Captain 
Towson's  conduct :  "  The  corps  of  artillery,  under  Major  Hindman, 
were  not  generally  in  action.  This  was  not  their  fault.  Captain  Tow- 
son's company  was  the  only  one  that  had  full  opportunity  of  distin- 
guishing itself ;  and  it  is  believed  that  no  company  ever  embraced  an 
opportunity  with  so  much  zeal,  or  more  success."  General  Wilkinson, 
who  had  been  a  soldier  all  his  life,  and  was  a  well-read  military  scholar. 


116  SKETCHES  OF  EMINENT  AMERICANS. 

says,  "  It  was  the  good  fortune  of  the  gallant  Towson  to  silence  the 
enemy's  battery."  At  this  critical  juncture,  General  Rial  took  the  reso- 
lution which  should  have  directed  his  conduct  in  the  outset :  he  deter- 
mined to  decide  the  contest  with  the  bayonet,  and  commenced  the 
charge  ;  when  Towson,  relieved  from  the  pressure  of  the  opposed  bat- 
tery, found  himself  at  leisure  to  turn  his  guns,  and  scour  the  adverse 
lines  of  the  enemy  with  showers  of  canister.  This  oblique  attack  of 
the  artillery,  and  the  perpendicular  fire  of  the  American  line,  was  in- 
supportable, and  valorous  troops  yielded  the  palm  and  retreated  precip- 
itately, leaving  their  killed  and  wounded  on  the  field,  but  carrying  off 
their  artillery.  Comparing  small  things  with  great,  here,  as  at  Minden, 
the  fate  of  the  day  was  settled  by  artillery  ;  and  the  American  Towson 
may  deservedly  be  ranked  with  the  British  Phillips,  Drummond,  and  Foy. 

Twenty  days  after  the  battle  of  Chippewa,  was  fought  that  of  Niag- 
ara— sometimes  also  called  Bridge  water  and  Lundy's  Lane.  It  was 
General  Brown's  wish  to  follow  up  the  victory  of  Chippewa  before  the 
enemy  could  concentrate  his  forces.  He  accordingly  sent  his  wound- 
ed and  heavy  baggage  to  Schlosser  ;  and  hearing,  on  the  25th  of  July, 
that  the  enemy  had  moved  his  whole  force  to  Queenston,  and  was 
embarking  a  party  for  the  purpose,  as  was  supposed,  of  destroying  oui 
stores  at  Schlosser,  he  ordered  General  Scott  to  make  the  movement 
which  resulted  in  the  battle  of  Niagara. 

It  is  a  matter  of  surprise,  that  no  official  report  of  the  early  part  oi 
this  battle  has  ever  been  made.  It  was  the  hardest  fought,  and  the 
most  sanguinary  conflict  that  occurred  during  that  war.  Both  Gen- 
erals Brown  and  Scott  evidently  greatly  underrated  the  strength  of  the 
enemy,  who  had  taken  a  position  at  Lundy's  Lane,  near  to,  and  opposite 
the  Falls  of  Niagara  ;  at  which  point,  as  was  afterwards  learned,  he 
was  concentrating  his  troops,  part  of  which  had  just  reached  Fort 
George  from  below.  This  ignorance  of  the  enemy's  force  is  severely 
criticised  by  General  Wilkinson,  in  the  review  of  this  battle  given  in 
his  memoirs;  and  under  ordinary  circumstances,  it  would  have  been 
unpardonable.  Had  General  Drummond's  reinforcements  reached 
Fort  George  by  way  of  Burlington  Heights,  General  Brown  would  most 
likely  have  been  fully  informed,  for  his  arrangements  for  intelligence 
were  as  perfect  as  possible.  But  Com.  Chauncey  refusing  to  permit  our 
fleet  to  take  the  lake,  because  he  was  too  unwell  to  command  it  him- 
self, gave  the  entire  control  of  Lake  Ontario  to  the  enemy,  and  enabled 
Sir  James  Yeo  to  transport  General  Drummond,  with  reinforcements, 
to  Fort  George.  Of  this,  General  Brown  could  have  no  information, 
so  that  Wilkinson's  criticism  is  unjust.  Want  of  this  information, 
however,  had  nearly  proved  fatal  to  the  American  army.  Had  Brow^n 
known  the  real  force  opposed  to  him,  he  ought  not,  and  would  not,  have 
divided  his  own.  He  would  not  have  ordered  Scott  to  march  on 
Queenston,  and  the  latter  would  not  have  attacked  Rial's  army,  had 
he  known  of  the  extent  to  which  it  had  been  reinforced ;  nor  would 
he  have  adopted  those  measures  which  Wilkinson  censures  so  severely. 
The  truth  is,  the  Americans  fought  the  battle  believing  the  enemy  to 
be  much  weaker  than  he  was  ;  he  fought  it  believing  us  to  be  much 
stronger  than  we  were.  Scott  supposed  he  was  attacking  the  same 
force  he  had  once  already  beaten,  which,  though  superior  to  his  own,  had 


NATHAN  TOWSON,  OF  MARYLAND.  117 

learned  to  dread  us.  Had  Drummond  known  the  true  state  of  things, 
lie  could  have  ended  the  contest  at  once,  by  an  appeal  to  the  bayonet. 
It  was  the  intention  of  Lieut.  Gen.  Drummond  to  attack  our  army 
next  morning  (26th  July)  when  it  lay  at  Chippewa.  But  Gen.  Brown, 
for  the  reasons  already  mentioned,  ordered  Scott  to  move  on  Queens- 
ton  on  the  afternoon  of  the  25th,  with  such  portion  of  his  brigade  as 
were  not  engaged  in  washing  ;  Towson's  artillery,  and  a  few  dragoons 
under  Captain  Harris.  No  battle  was  expected,  nor  was  it  known  that 
the  enemy  was  at  hand  and  in  force,  until  Scott,  at  the  head  of  his 
column,  reached  Mr.  Wilson's  house,  well  known  as  the  "  Falls  house." 
Towson's  artillery,  as  usual,  was  at  the  head  of  the  column.  As  it 
approached  the  Falls  house,  some  mounted  British  officers  appeared  at 
the  door,  but  rode  off.  They  were  supposed  to  belong  to  a  reconnoi- 
tering  party,  or  at  most  to  Rial's  brigade,  already  beaten  on  the  5th. 
Scott  rode  up  to  Mrs.  Wilson,  then  standing  at  the  door,  and  questioned 
her:  but  not  learning  anything  definite,  rode  forward.  Captain  Tow- 
son,  who  was  with  him,  lingered  at  the  door  a  short  time,  and  heard 
her  exclaim,  "  My  God  !  I'm  afraid  :  1  dare  not  speak  ;  but  there  will 
be  an  awful  battle  !"  Towson  rode  on,  and  mentioned  this  to  Scott, 
who  had  then  reached  the  head  of  the  column,  where  the  artillery  was 
emerging  from  the  woods,  which  lay  between  Mrs.  Wilson's  and  the 
field  of  battle.  Scott  immediately  ordered  the  infantry  to  take  the  po- 
sition he  intended  it  to  occupy  ;  leaving  Towson  to  station  the  artil- 
lery as  he  thought  best.  He  had  not  time  to  unlimber  his  pieces, 
before  the  enemy's  batteries,  consisting  of  nine  effective  pieces,  open- 
ed a  most  destructive  fire  upon  his  company,  and  Colonel  Brady's  regi- 
ment, which  deployed  in  the  same  field.  The  enemy's  batteries  were 
advantageously  posted  on  the  apex  of  the  hill :  Towson,  with  only 
two  six  pounders  and  a  howitzer,  was  at  the  bottom.  Thus  he  fought 
at  great  disadvantage  for  an  hour  and  a  quarter,  when  General 
Brown  and  staff  came  up.  Major  M'Crea,  the  engineer  officer  attached 
to  the  General's  staff,  came  to  Towson  and  said,  "  Captain,  don't  you 
think  your  guns  would  do  more  execution  if  they  were  placed  on  yon- 
der elevation  ?"  pointing  to  one.  "  I  have  just  left  that,"  replied  Tow- 
son, "  and  have  tried  every  part  of  the  field,  but  without  being  able  to 
make  an  impression.  Major  M'Crea,  that  battery  of  the  enemy  must 
be  carried,  and  it  can  only  be  done  with  the  bayonet."  The  major 
concurred  emphaticfeUy.  "  Then,  for  God's  sake,"  continued  Towson, 
"  see  the  General,  and  recommend  it."  The  credit  of  recommending 
this  famous  charge  has  been  claimed  for  several  officers.  The  facts, 
we  believe,  are  as  stated.  General  Brown  says  that  Major  M'Crea 
first  suggested  the  charge  to  him.*  This  is  true  ;  but  it  originated  with 
Towson.  The  General  saw  at  a  glance  the  great  importance — indeed 
the  necessity  of  carrying  the  enemy's  artillery  ;  and  turning  to  Colonel 
Miller,  asked,  "  Do  you  think.  Colonel,  you  can  carry  that  battery  with 
the  bayonets  of  the  21st?"  To  which  the  Colonel  made  the  reply,  as 

*  The  dispute  which  has  existed  in  regard  to  this  matter,  it  belongs  not  to  us  to 
settle.  Colonel  Miller,  in  his  testimony  before  a  court-martial  says,  that  it  was 
General  Ripley  who  gave  him  the  order  to  charge.  Both  may  bo  true.  Brown  may 
have  sent  the  order  through  Ripley,  who  wac  Miller's  immediate  superior. 


118  SKETCHES  OF  EMINENT  AMERICANS. 

modest  as  it  is  memorable — "  I'll  try,  sir  !"  (words  afterwards  worn 
on  the  caps  of  the  21st.)  And  most  heroically  did  he  execute  the 
achievement. 

Major  (now  General)  Jessiip  having  turned  the  enemy's  flank,  and 
taken  General  Rial  and  several  officers  and  men  prisoners,  and  Miller 
having  stormed  and  taken  their  artillery,  the  British  retreated,  and  our 
troops  took  possession  of  the  same  ground  which  the  enemy  had  held, 
only  facing,  of  course,  a  different  way.  In  this  position  Brown  in- 
tended his  army  to  remain  through  the  night,  Jessup's  command  forming 
the  right  of  our  line  ;  the  artillery,  now  reinforced  by  Ritchie's  and 
Riddle's  companies,  the  centre  ;  and  Bishop's  brigade  the  left.  Gen- 
eral Brown's  system  of  espionage,  established  between  Montreal  and 
Fort  George,  had,  owing  to  some  casualty,  failed  him,  and,  as  we  have 
shown,  he  was  not  informed  of  General  Drummond's  arrival  in  the 
peninsula  with  large  reinforcements.  And  when  General  Rial  was 
captured  by  Jessup,  and  his  artillery  by  Miller's  bayonets,  Brown  natu- 
rally concluded  that  the  enemy's  defeat  was  complete,  for  although  he 
had  heard  that  some  troops  had  joined  Rial,  he  supposed  that  they 
were  but  a  few  of  the  enemy's  outposts  called  in  to  the  main  body. 
This  mistake,  as  to  the  real  force  of  the  enemy,  was  general  through- 
out our  army,  until  near  the  close  of  the  action.  Drummond,  whose 
command  had  been  reinforced  from  Europe  and  from  Lower  Canada, 
was  moving  with  the  intention  of  effecting  a  junction  wnth  Rial,  and 
then  attacking  Brown  at  Chippewa  ;  and  learning,  on  his  arrival  at 
Fort  George,  that  a  battle  between  Brown  and  Rial  had  commenced, 
he  pressed  forward  to  strengthen  the  latter,  when  he  met  Rial's  forces 
retreating  by  the  Queenston  road.  Rallying  these,  and  uniting  them 
with  his  own  division,  they  formed  an  army  of  greatly  superior  numbers 
to  Brown's,  with  which  he  returned  to  the  battle  ground,  and  took  a 
position  opposite  to  and  parallel  with  the  American  lines. 

Whilst  preparing  this  sketch,  we  had  a  personal  interview  with 
General  Jessup,  and  received  from  him  much  information  in  regard  to 
the  scenes  of  that  eventful  night.  One  of  these  scenes  we  give,  as 
nearly  as  we  can  recollect,  in  the  words  of  that  veteran  :  "  Placed  on 
the  American  right,  I  found  a  road  which  seemed  to  have  been 
neglected  by  the  enemy,  and  pursuing  it,  had  little  difficulty  in  turning 
the  enemy's  left  flank,  and  reaching  his  rear.  Coming  to  the  road 
which  I  supposed  to  be  the  one  leading  to  Queeyston,  I  despatched 
Captain  Kctchmn  (a  very  good  name  by  the  by  for  the  service  on  which 
I  sent  him)  to  reconnoitre,  and  do  what  might  be  demanded  by  circum- 
stances. In  a  few  minutes  he  returned  with  General  Rial,  and  several 
officers  and  men,  prisoners.  Indeed,  our  prisoners  soon  outnumbered 
any  force  we  had  to  guard  them  ;  and,  although  the  stern  rules  of  war 
would  have  warranted  our  putting  them  to  death,  I  had  peremptorily 
forbidden  the  men  to  do  it.  General  Rial  was  wounded,  and  asked 
for  his  parole,  that  he  might  return  to  his  own  surgeon  and  have  his 
wounds  dressed.  I  told  him  I  had  no  power  to  grant  a  parole,  and 
that  he  could  reach  one  of  our  surgeons  sooner  than  his  own.  Whilst 
this  parley  was  in  progress,  I  noticed  some  of  our  men  using  their 
knives  upon  the  prisoners,  and  feared  that  they  were  putting  them  to 
death  ;  but  upon  calling  to  them  to  desist,  I  was  told  by.  them  that 


NATHAN   TOVVSON,   OF  MARYLAND.  119 

they  were  merely  cutting  their  suspenders,  alleging,  that  '  if  compelled 
to  hold  up  their  breeches  with  their  hands,  they  could  not  run  to  make 
escape.'  Whilst  about  detailing  a  guard  to  conduct  General  Rial  to 
our  camp,  a  British  officer  dashed  up  at  speed,  (it  was  dark  you  will 
remember,)  and  exclaimed,  as  he  drew  up  beside  General  Rial,  '  Gen- 
eral Rial,  General  Drummond  is  i)npatient  for  intelligence.  '  You  are 
a  prisoner,'  said  one  of  my  men,  laying  hold  of  his  bridle  rein.  This 
was  the  first  intelligence  I  had  of  Druminond's  vicinity  to  the  held  of 
battle.  At  this  moment,  one  of  the  officers  who  had  been  captured 
with  Rial,  thinking  perhaps  to  carry  the  intelligence  the  other  sought, 
wheeled  his  horse,  and  dashed  off  at  speed.  '  Bring  that  man  down,' 
said  a  corporal,  with  great  promptness  ;  and  in  an  instant  both  man 
and  horse  were  dead. 

"  '  As  for  General  Towson,'  continued  General  Jessup,  '  never  was 
there  a  braver,  cooler,  or  more  efficient  olhcer.  I  had  not  an  oppor- 
tunity of  personally  observing  him  that  night  until  after  our  line  was 
re-formed  on  the  ground  previously  occupied  by  the  British,  when  1 
was  immediately  upon  his  right,  and  I  had  opportunity  of  witnessing 
his  watchfulness,  self-possession,  and  firmness  in  the  most  perilous 
circumstances.  His  behavior  then  and  at  all  times  was  all  that  could 
be  desired  in  an  officer.'  " 

We  have  in  this  place  introduced  this  statement, quoted  from  memory, 
as  illustrating  the  fact  of  the  mutual  ignorance,  in  both  the  contending 
armies,  of  each  other's  strengtli,  and  as  containing  the  testimony  of  a 
fellow-soldier  in  regard  to  the  subject  of  this  memoir. 

General  Drummond's  approach  to  renew  the  conflict  was  conducted 
with  such  silence,  the  movements  being  directed  by  signal,  thaL  it  was 
anperceived  until  he  had  taken  position  as  above  described.  When 
his  column  was  within  some  one  hundred  paces  of  our  line,  it  de- 
ployed, and  moved  up  to  within  about  half  of  that  distance  ;  yet  on 
account  of  the  darkness,  and  the  atmosphere  being  loaded  with  the 
smoke  of  the  battle,  nothing  could  be  seen  distinctly,  and  a  pause  of 
about  twenty  minutes  ensued  without  any  movement.  At  this  moment 
a  sergeant  of  Towson's  company  made  prisoner  one  of  the  British 
musicians,  and  leading  him  up  to  Towson,  said,  "  Captain,  do  you  see 
that  dark  line  in  front  of  us  ?"  "  Yes,  a  fence,  is  it  not  V  "  No,  sir, 
it  is  the  English  ;  we  have  ju:st  taken  this  prisoner  from  it."  The 
Captain,  addressing  the  prisoner,  inquired,  "  To  what  regiment  do  you 
belong  ?"  "  To  the  89th,  sir."  "  You  are  deceiving  me,"  said  Tow- 
son ;  "  no  such  regiment  has  joined  the  British  army."  "  Indeed  there 
has,  sir,  the  89th  and  other  forces  came  up  this  afternoon  !"  General 
Scott  at  this  moment  rode  up  to  the  artillery,  and  Captain  Towson 
pointed  out  to  him  the  dark  line  in  front,  and  told  him  it  was  the 
enemy.  Scott  thought  it  impossible.  "  It  is  certainly  so,"  said  Tow- 
son ;  "  we  have  just  taken  a  prisoner  from  them,  and  they  are  there, 
and  reinforced."  "  What  are  they  waiting  there  for.  Captain  V  "  They 
mean  to  receive  our  fire,  and  then  charge  our  line,  I  presume,  and  we 
had  better  anticipate  them."  "  Yes,"  said  Scott,  "  I  will  charge  in 
column,  pass  through  their  line,  and  turn  their  right  flank."  He  then 
brought  up  from  the  rear  the  remnant  of  his  brigade,  except  Jessup'a 
regiment  (and  a  small  remnant  it  was.)     "  Now,"  said  Scott,  "  I  shall 


120  .  SKETCHES  OF  EMINENT  AMERICANS. 

move  over  this  rond,  (meaning  Lundy's  Lane,)  and  when  I  order  the 
charge,  let  the  artillery  and  the  troops  on  the  right  of  it  commence 
firing  !"  This  was  done.  Our  lire  was  immediately  returned  by  the 
enemy's  whole  line.  Owing  to  some  misunderstanding,  produced  in 
the  darkness,  Ripley's  brigade  also  commenced  firing,  which  placed 
Scott's  column  between  that  and  the  fire  of  the  enemy's  right.  This 
was  too  terrible  for  men  to  endure  who  had  already  been  so  cut  to 
pieces.  The  column  broke  ;  Scott  himself  was  severely  wounded  in 
the  shoulder,  and  returned  to  the  rear.  Colonel  Leavenworth  collected 
all  that  survived  of  the  column  which  Scott  had  led  to  the  charge,  and 
joined  Jessup  on  the  right. 

The  fire  of  the  American  line  was  very  destructive,  although  the 
line  was  much  reduced.  The  artillery  was  particularly  effective. 
Under  the  effect  of  this  fire  the  enemy  again  retired  from  the  field. 
Captain  Ritchie,  who  commanded  one  of  the  artillery  companies,  was 
badly  wounded  soon  after  joining.  Captain  Towson  advised  him  to 
leave  the  ground,  and  return  to  Chippewa  to  have  his  wounds  dressed  ; 
but  he  refused.  Major  Hindman,  taking  Ritchie's  horse  by  the  bridle, 
and  turning  his  head  towards  Chippewa,  said,  "  I  order  you  to  return." 
"  Then  let  my  bridle  go,"  said  the  Captain  ;  when,  wheeling  his  horse 
round,  he  dashed  his  spurs  into  his  sides,  and  rode  up  to  his  gun,  which 
was  somewhat  in  advance  of  our  line.  Here  horse  and  rider  were 
both  killed.  A  British  officer,  who  was  wounded  and  taken  prisoner 
in  a  subsequent  action,  and  sent  to  our  hospital,  told  Captain  Schmuck 
that  among  the  killed  of  the  Americans  found  on  the  field,  on  the  morn- 
ing after  the  battle  of  Niagara,  was  one,  known  by  his  dress  to  be  a 
captain  of  artillery,  Avhose  body  was  pierced  by  36  balls.  It  was 
undoubtedly  Captain  Ritchie,  as  he  was  the  only  artillery  officer  of 
that  rank  killed  ;  and  as  he  fell  upon  the  ground  which  was  so  fiercely 
disputed  between  the  two  armies,  it  is  probable  that  his  body  received 
many  wounds  after  he  fell. 

Twice  after  this  did  the  enemy  renew  the  struggle,  but  were  as 
often  repulsed.  Generals  Brown  and  Scott  being  both  compelled  by 
severe  wounds  to  leave  the  field,  the  command  devolved  upon  Brigadier 
General  Ripley.  Before  Brown  retired,  the  enemy  had  retreated,  the 
firing  had  ceased,  and  our  troops  were  in  undisturbed  possession  of 
the  field  ;  and  before  leaving  the  battle  ground.  Brown  said,  "  General 
Ripley,  I  leave  you  in  command.  The  victory  is  won.  Secure  the 
trophies  ;  remain  until  our  wounded  and  the  cannon  are  brought  off, 
and  then  return  to  camp."  As  he  passed  Major  Hindman  and  Captain 
Towson,  who  were  superintending  the  removal  of  the  artillery  from 
the  hill  on  which  it  had  been  stationed,  into  the  road,  preparatory  to 
conveying  it  to  camp,  he  informed  them  of  the  orders  that  had  been 
given  to  Ripley.  Said  Towson  to  him,  "  General,  the  greater  part  of 
our  horses  are  killed,  or  unable  to  draw,  on  account  of  wounds.  Such 
as  are  fit  for  use  have  been  sent  to  camp  with  guns,  and  ordered  to 
return  immediately."  "  That  is  right,"  rejdied  Brown  ;  "  get  Ripley 
to  let  the  infantry  assist  in  bringing  the  artillery  into  the  road  ;  he  has 
orders  to  remain  until  that  and  the  wounded  are  removed."  On  re- 
turning to  the  hill,  Towson  met  the  infantry  leaving  it,  and  no  assist- 
ance was  obtained  from  them      The  artillery  secured  their  own  guns, 


NATHAN  TOWSON,  OF  MARYLAND.  121 

and  one  brass  field-piece  of  the  enemy's  battery,  and  this  is  all  that 
remains  to  our  army  of  the  hardly-fought  and  dearly-won  battle  of 
Niagara  This  piece  was  brought  from  the  field  by  Lieut.  Campbell, 
one  of  Towson's  subalterns,  and  it  is  now  at  Greenleaf 's  Point,  Wash- 
ington City. 

When  Captain  Towson  returned  to  camp  at  Chippewa,  General 
Brown  sent  for  him,  and  he  repaired  to  the  tent  where  the  surgeon 
had  just  finished  dressing  the  general's  wound.  The  latter  expressed 
much  dissatisfaction  at  General  Ripley,  for  having  left  the  battle- 
ground before  our  wounded  and  the  cannon  were  removed,  and  added, 
"  I  have  ordered  him  to  return  as  soon  as  his  troops  have  received 
some  refreshment,  and  I  wish  General  Porter,  with  his  volunteers,  and 
your  company  to  return  with  him.  Let  your  men  get  some  refresh- 
ment as  soon  as  possible,  and  move  on  to  the  battle  field,  where  you 
will  remain  until  the  trophies  of  victory  are  secured."  This  was  about 
three  o'clock  in  the  morning.  It  is  evident  that  the  general  expected 
our  troops  to  regain  the  field  before  the  enemy  did,  that  is,  between 
daybreak  and  sunrise.  If  this  could  have  been  done,  Ripley's  blunder 
in  leaving  it  too  soon  might  have  been  retrieved.  Towson  ordered  an  ' 
extra  ration  of  whiskey  to  be  given  to  his  men,  and  so  soon  as  those 
not  wounded  had  obtained  something  to  eat,  he  moved  to  the  road 
where  the  column  was  to  be  formed,  and  placed  his  corps  in  the  posi- 
tion he  supposed  it  would  occupy.  No  sooner  were  they  in  position, 
than  the  poor  fellows,  exhausted  with  fatigue,  threw  themselves  upon 
the  ground  and  slept,  until  they  were  joined  by  the  other  forces,  which 
was  not  until  after  eiglit  o'clock.  The  column  moved  on  until  it  came 
in  view  of  Mrs.  Wilson's  house,  where  the  enemy  was  descried  in 
position.  A  consultation  was  held,  and  it  was  concluded  that  it  was 
too  late  to  regain  possession  of  the  field  ;  and  our 'troops  returned  to 
camp. 

Captain  Towson's  company  sufiered  much  for  want  of  medical 
attendance,  the  artillery  having  no  surgeon,  and  the  surgeons  of  the 
other  troops  having  more  than  they  could  do  to  attend  to  the  wounded 
of  their  own  regiments.  His  subalterns  were  both  wounded,  and  most 
of  his  non-commissioned  officers  either  killed  or  wounded.  Under 
these  circumstances,  he  procured  a  surgeon  belonging  to  the  infantry 
to  look  at  his  subalterns  and  dress  their  wounds.  The  remainder  of 
his  wounded  were  put  into  a  boat,  sent  up  the  river,  and  landed  on  the 
Canada  shore,  opposite  Black  Rock.  Here  they  remained  until  his 
company  reached  Fort  Erie,  when  he  managed  to  take  them  over  to 
Buftalo,  and  place  them  in  the  hospital  there.  But  some  of  the  poor 
fellows  died  of  flesh  wounds,  mortification  having  ensued  before  they 
could  be  dressed. 

After  the  battle  of  Niagara,  the  army  retired  to  Fort  Erie,  under  the 
command  of  General  Ripley.  They  left  the  camp  at  Chippewa  about 
12  o'clock.  General  Ripley  had  serious  thoughts  of  returning  to  Buf- 
falo, as  our  forces  were  much  cut  up,  and  the  enemy  strongly  rein- 
forced. On  this  subject,  he  consulted  separately  Captain  Towson  and 
several  of  the  field  officers.  To  Towson  he  stated  that  he,  Ripley, 
was  placed  in  a  very  resptmsible  situation.  In  command  of  the  skel- 
eton of  an  army,  that  had  gained  reputation  and  fame  for  themselves 


122  SKETCHES    OF    EMINENT    AMERICANS. 

and  country,  that  army  had  not  been  reinforced  as  it  should  have  been, 
but  was  left  to  struggle,  in  an  enemy's  country,  against  superior  num- 
bers of  troops,  better  appointed  than  themselves  in  all  the  appliances 
of  war.  And  although  the  army  had  surmounted  all  past  difficulties, 
and  had  covered  itself  with  glory,  there  seemed  little  prospect  of  being 
reinforced  in  season  to  prevent  future  disaster.  He  thought,  therefore, 
there  could  be  no  loss  of  reputation  in  retiring  before  vastly  superior 
numbers,  and  that  it  might  be  the  part  of  both  prudence  and  duty  to  do 
so.  He  also  added,  "  I  am  but  a  young  general,  and  should  this  army, 
which  has  been  led  to  victory  by  others,  be  beaten  under  my  command, 
it  will  be  ascribed  to  want  of  ability  in  the  commander,  and  not  to  the 
true  cause,  want  of  the  requisite  force  and  supplies."  To  this  Towson 
replied,  that  he  thought  the  general  took  too  gloomy  a  view  of  the 
subject.  It  was  true  the  enemy  was  greatly  superior  in  numbers,  and 
having  command  of  Lake  Ontario  could  reinforce  at  pleasure  ;  but  it 
was  evident,  from  his  permitting  us  to  send  our  wounded  and  baggage 
unmolested  up  the  river,  that  he  thought  us  too  strong  to  trifle  with. 
We  could  avail  ourselves  of  the  defences  of  Fort  Erie,  and  strengthen 
them  ;  protect  ourselves  by  entrenchments  and  traverses  ;  and  could 
sustain  a  siege  until  relieved.  That  communication  with  Buffalo  could 
be  kept  open  by  the  lake,  and  we  could  retreat  when  compelled  to  do 
so.  That  our  army  could  not  be  beaten  but  by  superior  numbers,  and 
although  it  might  be  annihilated,  it  could  not  be  disgraced.  The  offi- 
cers generally  concurring  in  these  views.  General  Ripley  came  to  the 
determination  of  strengthening  the  fortifications  and  withstanding  a 
siege. 

Towson  had  permission  to  select  his  position,  and  he  chose  the  left 
flank,  where  it  was  supposed  the  main  attack  would  be  made,  if  the 
enemy  should  attempt  to  carry  the  works  by  assault.  This  was,  of 
course,  the  post  of  danger  and  of  honor.  The  place  on  which  his 
battery  was  erected  was  called  by  the  British  Snake  Hill,  and  was  a 
mound  of  sand  of  some  twenty  feet  elevation,  and  of  sufficient  width 
for  a  platform  on  which  two  six-pounders,  a  howitzer,  and  an  eighteen 
pounder  could  be  placed,  with  just  sufficient  room  for  the  men  to  work 
them.  This  mound  was  shaped  to  a  quadrangle,  and  embankments 
thrown  up,  composed  of  two  walls  of  inverted  sods,  slightly  sloped, 
filled  in  with  sand.  This  battery  was  directed,  'n  general  orders,  to 
be  called  Fort  Towson  ;  but  a  particular  friend  of  Towson,  Captain 
Williams,  being  killed  in  the  assault  on  the  15th  of  August,  Towson 
requested,  as  a  personal  favor,  that  the  battery  might  bear  the  name  of 
his  friend  ;  and  it  was  so  called.  But  the  enemy  denominated  it 
"  the  Lighthouse,'"  on  account  of  the  constant  blaze  of  light  emitted  from 
its  four  guns  during  the  assault,  which  four  the  enemy,  in  his  official 
report,  had  multiplied  to  nine. 

Tovvson's  company,  reduced  at  the  time  of  retiring  to  Fort  Erie,  to 
forty-five  men,  were  excused,  in  consideration  of  past  services,  and  that 
they  might  be  fresh  if  attacked  in  the  night,  from  all  fatigue  duty  on  the 
works.  As  the  spot  on  the  west  side  of  his  battery  was  protected  from 
the  enemy's  fire,  by  its  high  embankment,  it  offered  a  secure  and  plea- 
sant place  for  the  company  to  rest  in  the  day-time.  And  the  invalids 
of  the  camp  generally  repaired  to  it ;  not  being  certain  that,  if  they  lay 


NATHAN  TOWSON,  OF  MARYLAND.  123 

down  in  their  own  tents,  they  would  rise  with  their  heads  upon  their 
shouhlers.  Of  course,  "  Towson's  hght-housc"  was  quite  in  favor  with 
the  army  ;  and  many  a  good  story  was  told,  many  a  jovial  song  sung, 
and  not  a  little  whiskey  drunk  under  its  protection  ;  which,  but  for  it, 
had  never  been  enjoyed. 

The  army  had  been  but  a  few  days  at  Fort  Erie,  until  the  enemy 
approached,  and  took  a  strong  position  opposite  Black  Rock,  and  about 
two  miles  from  the  fort.  General  Gaines  arrived  and  assumed  com- 
mand, on  the  4th  of  August.  From  the  time  of  the  enemy's  approach, 
up  to  the  period  of  his  final  repulse,  there  was  a  war  of  pickets,  and 
other  hostile  operations,  not  necessary  here,  to  detail,  but  in  which 
many  an  act  of  bold  daring  was  performed. 

Fort  Erie  was  at  that  time  surrounded  by  a  thick  wood,  approaching 
to  within  the  average  distance  of  1,000  yards  of  the  works.  The 
enemy  established  his  batteries  in  the  edge  of  this  wood.  As  the  in- 
tervening open  space  was  traversed  by  a  number  of  ravines,  our  light 
troops  would  creep  along  these,  to  discover  how  our  enemy  were  pro- 
gressing ;  and  these  exploits  would  be  attended  with  more  or  less 
firing.  Our  killed  and  wounded  would  be  brought  ofi' under  cover  of 
these  ravines.  Theirs,  if  they  fell  outside  cfthe  wood,  were  suffered 
to  lie.  A  proposal  was  made  at  one  time  for  a  cessation  of  hostilities, 
to  enable  each  array  to  bury  their  dead.  After  Brown's  sortie,  the  enemy 
retired,  and  left  the  United  States  troops  in  possession  of  this  often 
contested  ground  ;  when  several  dead  soldiers,  in  difTerent  stages  of 
decay,  were  found. 

Pending  the  siege,  the  British  increased  the  number  of  their  bat- 
teries, extending  them  to  the  right,  under  cover  of  the  wood.  The 
last  one  was  about  six  hundred  yards  from  Towson's,  and  was  com- 
pleted and  ready  to  open  upon  him,  the  next  morning  after  the  incident 
now  to  be  related,  occurred.  General  George  M.  Brooke  (then  major) 
was  officer  of  the  day  ;  and,  in  visiting  the  picket,  he  discovered  the 
new  battery,  and  the  state  of  forwardness  it  w^as  in.  Returning  to 
camp,  he  communicated  the  information  to  Towson,  and  added,  "  if 
you  think  proper,  I  will  give  you  an  opportunity  to  anticipate  the  fire 
of  the  enemy's  new  battery  V  "  How  ?"  "I  will  take  a  dark  lantern 
the  first  time  I  go  the  grand  rounds  this  evening,  and  hang  it  upon  one 
of  the  trees  on  a  line  between  your  battery  and  his,  the  door  of  the 
lantern  will  be  open  on  the  side  next  you,  and  you  can  direct  your  guns 
by  it."  "  Capital !  capital  !"  said  Towson,  "  but  it  will  be  a  very  peri- 
lous undertaking."     "  FU  do  it,"  said   the  major,  gaily,  "  it  will  please 

,"  naming  his  lady-love.     The  lantern  was  suspended,  and  the  fire 

of  Towson's   battery  directed  by  it,  but  with  what  effect  was  never 
known. 

It  was  perhaps  in  return  for  this  favor,  that  Brooke  felt  justified  in 
laying  Towson's  patience  and  property  under  contribution,  by  the  ruse 
which  we  will  now  relate. 

Before  the  army  entered  Canada,  the  captain  being  sick,  had  passed 
a  fortnight  at  a  public  house,  on  the  American  shore  of  the  lake,  a  lit- 
tle west  of  Buffalo,  kept  by  a  Mr.  Goodrich,  and  had  formed  an  ac- 
quaintance with  his  family.  To  this  place  the  officers,  who  had  more 
horses  than  they  wanted  during  the  siege  of  Fort  Erie,  sent  them  to 


124  SKETCHES  OF  EMINENT  AMERICANS, 

be  pastured  ;  changing  them  when  necessary.  On  such  occasions,  the 
servants  who  were  sent  across  the  lake  with  the  horses  would  procure 
vegetables,  and  occasionally  a  chicken  or  a  duck,  from  the  farmers  who 
lived  near  to  Goodrich  :  paying,  of  course,  exorbitant  prices.  One  day 
during  the  siege,  Brooke  sent  a  formal  invitation  to  Towson,  request- 
ing the  honor  of  his  company  at  dinner,  with  a  few  friends.  "  Please 
to  bring  your  knife,  fork  and  spoon  with  you,"  said  the  note,  and  the 
major  will  be  obliged  by  the  loan  of  any  other  articles  of  table  furni- 
ture the  captain  may  have."  The  invitation  was  too  tempting  to  be 
refused,  and  a  formal  acceptance  was  returned.  When  dinner  was 
served,  Brooke's  guests  were  curious  to  know  how  he  had  been  so  for- 
tunate as  to  obtain  the  means  of  entertaining  them  so  handsomely.  "O  ! 
my  servant  procured  them  when  he  went  to  Goodrich's  to  change  the 
horses.  He  can  tell  you  the  particulars  ;  but  we'll  not  call  for  them 
till  we've  dined."  None  but  those  who  have  lived  for  a  long  time  on 
camp  fare,  during  a  siege,  can  tell  how  much  Brooke's  fare  was  re- 
lished. Chicken-pie  reminded  his  guests  of  home,  and  the  days  of 
boyhood.  Dessert  .was  omitted,  and  Tom  was  called  upon  to  tell  how 
he  had  obtained  the  chickens  and  vegetables  that  formed  so  important 
a  part  of  the  meal.  Tom  began  to  fumble  in  his  pockets.  "  I'm  afraid 
I've  lost  it,"  stammered  he.  "  Lost  it — lost  what  ?"  "  Mr.  Goodrich's 
paper, — no — here  it  is,"  pulling  out  a  dirty,  crumpled  looking  paper,  and 
handing  it  to  the  major.  "  Why,  Tom,  this  is  not  for  me — 'tis  for  Cap- 
tain Towson."  "  Its  the  paper  Mr.  Goodrich  gave  me  ;  he  said  the 
captain  must  excuse  it,  as  he  had  no  other  to  write  upon,  and  no  wafers 
to  seal  it  with."  The  paper  contained  a  list  of  eatables  which  Mr. 
Goodrich  had  sent  to  Captain  Towson,  by  Tom,  and  on  which  the 
major  had  levied  black  mail.  "  Why,"  said  the  captain,  looking  sternly 
at  Tom,  "  Why  were  not  these  articles  and  this  paper  brought  to  me  ?" 
"  I  obeys  orders,  sir,"  said  Tom,  casting  a  glance  at  the  major,  and  rais- 
ing himself  erect  in  the  attitude  of  a  soldier.  Captain  Towson  turned  it 
off,  by  remarking,  "  it  is  a  pity,  since  the  major  has  taxed  me  so  heavily 
to  furnish  out  the  dinner,  that  he  did  not  go  a  step  further,  and  borrow 
the  safe  spot  under  my  battery  to  set  the  table  ;  as  we  might  then  have 
dined  without  the  liability  to  have  our  dishes  disturbed  by  the  enemy's 
shot."  No  accident  occurred,  however,  during  the  dinner,  and  it  was 
not  enjoyed  with  the  less  gusto,  on  account  of  the  major's  and  Tom's 
black  mail. 

We  have  obtained  copies  of  a  correspondence  that  passed  between 
General  Towson  and  the  late  General  Belknap  ;  the  officer  (then  a 
lieutenant)  in  command  of  the  picket  on  Towson's  left  flank,  the  night 
of  the  assault  on  Fort  Erie.  And  as  it  gives  a  correct  and  concise  de- 
scription of  that  part  of  the  action  in  which  the  parties  were  engaged, 
we   shall  quote  the  letters  without  alteration. 

"  Newburg,  June  lAth,  1841, 

"  General  : — When  I  was  at  Washington  city,  I  had  a  conversation 
with  you  on  the  subject  of  the  defence  of  Fort  Erie,  on  the  15th  of 
August,  1814.  Believing  that  due  credit  was  never  given  to  the  troops 
that  acted  on  the  left  fiank  of  the  army  on  that  occasion  where  the 
attack  commenced,  I  am  induced,  from  the  conspicuous  part  you  bore 


NATHAN'  TOWSON,  OF  MARYLAND. 


125 


in  the  action,  by  the  prompt  and  rapid  mann(*r  in  which  you  served 
your  artillery,  and  to  which  was  mainly  owing  the  defeat  of  the  enemy, 
to  request  you  to  communicate  to  me  your  recollections  of  the  affair, 
particularly  such  part  of  it  in  which,  to  your  knowledge,  I  was  engaged- 
"  I  am,  General, 

"  With  great  respect, 

"  Your  obedient  servant, 

"  W.  G.  Belknap. 
''  Brigadier-General  N.  Towson." 

"  To  Major  W.  G.  Belknap  : 

"  Dear  Sir  : — I  willingly  comply  with  your  request,  and  will  state 
my  recollections  of  your  conduct  in  the  assault  on  Fort  Erie,  the  15th 
August,  1814.  My  company  was  stationed  on  the  left  flank  of  the 
intrenchment.  My  battery,  posted  on  a  small  eminence  called  Snake- 
hill,  commanded  the  pass  between  the  margin  of  Lake  Erie  and  the 
woods  for  a  short  distance.  As  the  enemy  was  well  acquainted  with 
our  imperfect  defences,  and  as  that  was  the  most  assailable  point,  it 
was  evident,  in  the  event  of  an  attack,  that  his  main  effort  would  be 
to  carry  this  flank,  and  that  nothing  but  untiring  vigilance  and  good 
conduct,  on  the  part  of  all  interested  in  its  defence,  could  prevent  his 
succeeding. 

"  As  the  column  of  attack  would  not  have  to  pass  more  than  four 
hundred  yards  after  it  debouched  from  the  woods  before  it  reached  the 
battery,  it  was  of  the  utmost  importance  that  the  picket,  stationed  at 
this  point  to  give  notice  of  its  approach,  should  perform  that  duty,  not 
only  with  promptness,  but  in  such  way  as  to  leave  no  doubt  of  the 
advance  and  intention  of  the  enemy. 

"  It  was  my  practice  every  evening  after  tattoo  to  form  the  men  at 
their  guns,  and  to  make  each  individual  lie  down  on  the  ground  he 
was  to  occupy  in  battle,  that  no  time  might  be  lost  in  forming  on  an 
alarm.  The  guns  were  always  ready-shotted,  and  I  could  at  any  time 
have  discharged  the  whole  battery  in  ten  seconds  after  the  alarm  was 
given.  I  always  arranged,  with  the  officer  of  the  day,  that  the  picket 
should,  immediately  after  giving  the  alarm,  retire  by  a  pathway  along 
the  edge  of  the  M^ood,  as  the  least  exposed,  and  to  inform  the  officer 
commanding  the  guard,  that  a  short  time  only  could  be  allowed  him  to 
get  out  of  the  way  before  the  battery  would  open.  I  mention  these 
facts  because  they  show  the  great  responsibility  resting  upon  the  offi- 
cer commanding  the  guard,  and  the  imminent  danger  to  which  he  and 
his  command  were  exposed.  I  well  recollect  the  anxiety  I  felt  on 
seeing  your  guard  march  past  my  battery  to  its  station,  on  account  of 
the  apparent  youth  of  its  commander.  But  the  event  showed  that  I 
had  no  cause  for  uneasiness,  and  that  a  better  selection,  for  that  duty, 
could  not  have  been  made. 

"  Between  two  and  three  o'clock,  on  the  morning  of  the  15th  of 
August,  the  approach  of  the  right  column  of  the  enemy,  nearly  two 
thousand  strong,  commanded  by  Colonel  Fischer,  was  discovered  by 
you,  and  the  discovery  announced  to  our  army  by  several  volleys  from 
your  guard.     Their  regularity  and  the  repetition  of  the  discharge  con- 


126  SKETCHES  OF  EMINENT  AMERICANS. 

vinced  me  that  therfe  could  be  no  mistake  ;  that  the  enemy  was  ad- 
vancing in  force,  and  that  no  time  should  be  lost  in  checking  him. 
This  was  to  me  the  most  perplexing  moment  of  my  military  life. 
Every  minute's  delay  in  firing  jeopardized  the  whole  army.  On  the 
other  hand,  it  was  next  to  an  impossibility  for  the  guard  to  have  per- 
formed, in  such  gallant  style,  the  duty  assigned  to  it,  and  have  gotten 
out  of  the  way  in  the  time  agreed  upon.  The  inevitable  consequence 
of  an  immediate  discharge  from  my  battery,  under  such  circumstances, 
would  be  the  destruction  of  the  gallant  troops  that  had  so  faithfully 
performed  their  duty.  There  Avas,  however,  no  time  to  deliberate.  I 
hope  I  acted  correctly  in  endeavoring  to  save  the  army  at  the  hazard 
of  your  guard.  The  result  you  know.  The  number  that  suffered  was 
less,  in  consequence  of  the  elevation  of  the  guns,  for  the  purpose  of 
firing  over  them.  Notwithstanding  the  prompt  action  of  my  battery, 
the  advance  of  the  enemy  reached  our  works  as  soon  as  your  guard  ; 
and  I  believe  you  received  a  bayonet  wound  before,  or  immediately 
after,  you  had  gained  your  position  on  the  extreme  flank.  Had  their 
column  not  been  broken,  the  most  disastrous  consequences  might  have 
followed.  In  conclusion,  I  will  remark,  that  I  have  never  known  a 
case,  in  which  the  officer,  intrusted  with  a  guard,  had  more  important 
or  more  hazardous  duties  to  perform  than  were  committed  to  you  that 
night.  Few  would  have  discharged  them  so  well,  and  none  could 
have  done  better. 

"  Respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

"  N.  TowsoN." 

The  assault  and  defence  of  Fort  Erie  was  one  of  the  sternest  con- 
tests of  the  war.  The  assault  was  made  about  two  in  the  morning, 
with  numbers  superior  to  the  Americans,  and  of  the  best  appointed 
troops  ;  and  both  by  the  enemy  and  our  own  troops  many  deeds  of 
heroism  were  performed,  which  cannot  be  mentioned  here. 

The  part  borne  by  our  hero  in  repelling  this  fierce  assault,  is  attested 
in  the  most  complimentary  terms  by  the  commanding-generals,  Gaines 
and  Ripley,  the  latter  of  whom  commanded  the  left  flank,  where  Tow- 
son  was  stationed. 

Says  General  Gaines,  in  his  official  report,  "  The  night  was  dark, 
and  the  early  part  of  it  rainy,  but  the  faithful  sentinel  slept  not :  one- 
third  of  the  troops  were  vip  at  their  posts.  At  half-past  two  o'clock, 
the  right  column  of  the  enemy  approached,  and,  although  enveloped  in 
darkness,  black  as  his  designs  and  principles,  was  distinctly  heard  on 
our  left,  and  promptly  marked  by  our  musketry  under  Major  Wood, 
and  the  cannon  under  Captain  Towson.  Being  mounted  at  the  moment, 
I  repaired  to  the  point  of  attack,  where  the  sheet  of  fire  rolling  from 
Towson's  battery,  and  the  musketry  of  the  left  wing  of  the  21st  Infantry, 
under  Major  Wood,  enabled  me  to  see  the  enemy's  column  of  about 
1,500  men  approaching  on  that  point;  his  advance  was  not  checked 
until  it  had  approached  within  ten  feet  of  our  infantry.  Towson's 
battery  emitted  a  constant  sheet  of  fire."     Again  he  adds  : 

"  Major  Hindman,  and  the  whole  of  the  artillery  under  the  command 
of  that  excellent  officer,  displayed  a  degree  of  gallantry  and  good  con- 
duct not  to  be  surpassed.    The  particular  situation  of  Captain  Towson, 


NATHAN  TOWSON,  OF  MARYLAND.  127 

and  the  much-lamented  Captain  Williams,  and  Lieut.  McDonough,  and 
that  of  Lieut.  Watmough,  as  already  described,  with  their  respective 
commands,  rendered  them  most  conspicuous." 

General  Ripley  says  :  "  On  the  first  fire  of  the  picket,  Captain 
Towson  opened  his  artillery  upon  the  enemy  from  Fort  Williams  in  a 
style  which  does  him  infinite  credit.  It  was  continued  with  very  great 
effect  upon  the  enemy  during  the  whole  action."  And  in  another  part 
of  his  report,  he  says  :  "  I  cannot  refrain  from  adverting  to  the  manner 
in  which  Captain  Towson's  artillery  was  served  ;  I  have  never  seen 
it  equalled.  This  officer  has  so  often  distinguished  himself,  that  to 
say  simply  that  he  is  in  action,  is  a  volume  of  eulogium  ;  the  army, 
only  to  be  informed  that  he  is  there,  by  a  spontaneous  assent,  are  at 
once  satisfied  that  he  has  performed  well  his  part.  I  have  no  idea 
that  there  is  an  artillery  officer  in  any  service  superior  to  him  in  the 
knowledge  and  performance  of  his  duty."  The  fire  of  Towson's  artil- 
lery and  of  the  21st  Infantry,  was  so  terrible  and  destructive,  that  the 
British  column,  after  four  efforts  to  rally  and  advance,  at  length  broke 
and  fled  ;  and  the  victory  was  early  and  effectually  completed  upon 
this  wing,  which  facilitated  the  ultimate  repulse  of  the  foe,  as  aid  was 
despatched  to  the  right  to  strengthen  our  troops  in  that  quarter,  who 
were  sorely  pressed.  The  British  were  compelled  to  retire  to  their 
camp  with  great  loss — nine  hundred  and  fifteen  men  in  killed,  wounded, 
and  missing.     The  Americans  lost  eighty-four. 

On  the  2d  of  September,  General  Brown  again  took  command  at 
Fort  Erie.  The  British  receiving  continual  reinforcements,  renewed 
their  efforts,  and  again  pushed  their  batteries  close  upon  the  fort,  and 
rendered  them  formidable.  General  Brown,  for  the  purpose  of  check- 
ing and  crippling  the  enemy,  conceived  the  bold  idea  of  a  sortie  for 
the  destruction  of  his  batteries.  The  British  force  consisted  of  three 
brigades  of  about  fifteen  hundred  men  each  :  one  of  which,  alternately, 
was  stationed  at  the  batteries  ;  while  the  other  two  remained  at 
the  camp.  The  object  of  the  sortie  was  to  surprise  the  brigade  on 
duty,  defeat  or  capture  it,  and  destroy  the  batteries  before  the  others 
could  come  to  its  aid.  The  success  of  the  enterprise  is  well  known  to 
the  country  and  to  the  world.  On  the  9th  of  October,  Major- General 
Izard  arrived  from  Plattsburg,  with  his  division  of  5,000  men,  to  re- 
lieve the  besieged  army,  but  found  that  they  had  relieved  themselves 
by  the  brilliant  affair  just  described,  and  that  the  enemy  had  retired. 
Izard  determined  to  follow  him,  and  try  to  bring  him  to  action.  He 
found  him  prepared  to  dispute  the  passage  of  the  Chippewa.  The  de- 
fences at  that  place  had  been  strengthened  by  the  construction  of  re- 
doubts, and  by  extending  a  breastwork  along  the  creek,  on  the  side 
of  the  village,  to  a  distance  sufficient  to  cover  their  infantry  and  light 
troops ;  and  also,  by  a  work  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  creek,  defended 
by  artillery.  Upon  reconnoitering  the  enemy's  lines,  it  was  discovered 
that  his  artillery  was  in  position,  but  that  there  was  no  appearance  of 
any  other  troops  ;  and  this,  with  certain  movements  observed  in 
the  village,  created  an  impression  that  he  was  about  to  abandon  the 
post.  In  his  letter  to  the  Secretary  of  War,  General  Izard  says, 
"  some  of  my  officers  were  induced  to  believe  that  the  enemy  were 
evacuating  the  post,  and  Major-Gencral  Brown  was  of  this  opinion. 


128  SKETCHES  OF  EMINENT  AMERICANS. 

To  ascertain  the  fact,  which  seemed  to  me  incredible,  in  the  apparent 
state  of  their  works,  I  ordered  the  whole  of  my  little  train,  consisting 
of  Towson's  and  x\rcher's  companies,  the  former  three  six-pounders  and 
one  five  and  a-half  inch  howitzer,  the  latter,  two  eighteen-pounders,to 
advance  and  fire  on  their  batteries.  Nothing  could  be  more  gallant 
than  the  proceeding  of  this  little  band.  They  advanced  through  the 
open  ground,  in  full  view  of  the  enemy's  batteries,  of  twenty-four  and 
twelve-pounders  ;  formed  the  line  without  any  cover  whatever,  and 
commenced  a  cool  and  correct  cannonade,  which  was  immediately  an- 
swered by  their  adversaries.  The  vast  superiority  of  our  artillerists 
was  discernible  by  the  most  inexperienced  eye.  Every  shot  told. 
One  of  the  enemy's  batteries  was  silenced.  The  intended  effect  was 
produced ;  and  it  was  plain  that,  so  far  from  abandoning  their  posts, 
the  British  were  in  strength,  and  superior  in  number  of  guns  and 
weight  of  metal.  The  firing  continued  till  dusk,  when  I  directed  our 
pieces  to  be  withdrawn  for  the  night.  Two  deserters,  that  came  over 
this  morning,  state  that  considerable  execution  was  done,  in  the  battery 
in  which  they  were  posted,  on  the  hither  side  of  the  creek.  On  our 
side,  we  lost  but  four  men  killed  ;  none  wounded  but  Major  S.  Lush, 
army  judge  advocate." 

General  Towson  was  the  senior  officer  of  artillery  with  Izard's  army, 
and  commanded  both  companies.  In  this  contest,  the  enemy  not  only 
had  more  guns,  and  heavier  metal  than  Towson,  but  also  a  decided  ad- 
vantage in  being  protected  by  a  breastwork  ;  while  his  artillery  was 
exposed,  on  an  open  plain,  without  any  covering.  To  ascertain  whe- 
ther any  of  the  enemy's  troops  were  concealed  behind  the  breastwork 
on  the  margin  of  the  creek,  Towson  determined,  after  silencing  theif 
batteries,  to  reconnoitre  that  position  from  the  opposite  bank,  and  for 
that  purpose  rode  rapidly  along  it  within  musket  range  of  the  embank- 
ment. This  drew  from  the  concealed  troops  an  irregular  fire  the 
whole  extent  of  the  line,  resembling  a  feu  de  joie ;  and  satisfied  Ge- 
neral Izard  that  it  would  be  hazarding  too  much  to  attempt  to  cross  the 
Chippewa  in  the  face  of  such  a  force. 

One  of  the  four  Americans,  killed  in  this  affair,  was  the  orderly  ser- 
geant of  Towson's  company  ;  the  son  of  a  gallant  soldier  of  the  old  Mary- 
land line,  of  the  revolutionary  army.  In  youth  the  sergeant  was  the 
playmate  of  his  future  Captain.  When  war  was  declared,  among  the 
first  to  join  his  standard  was  Sergeant  Steeds,  than  whom  a  braver  or 
a  better  soldier  never  presented  arms.  This,  with  one  exception,  was  the 
closing  scene  of  the  war  on  the  Niagara  frontier  ;  and  with  that  ex- 
ception, it  is  believed,  the  first  and  the  last  blood  shed  on  that  frontier 
flowed  from  Towson's  company. 

General  Izard,  deeming  further  offensive  operations  inexpedient,  de- 
stroyed Fort  Erie,  and  on  the  20th  of  October,  evacuated  Canada,  and 
distributed  his  troops  at  the  posts  of  Buffalo,  Black  Rock,  and  Batavia, 
where  the  tidings  of  peace  found  them. 

At  the  close  of  the  war.  General  Towson  was  assigned  to  the  com- 
mand of  the  troops  in  the  harbor  of  Boston.  Whilst  stationed  there, 
in  1816,  he  was  married  to  Sophia,  daughter  of  Caleb  Bingham,  Esq., 
of  that  city,  a  lady  of  eminent  beauty  and  accomplishments,  with 
■whom  he  lived  happily,  until  her  death,  at  Washington,  in  1852.     He 


NATHAN  TOWSON,  OF  MARYLAND.  129 

was  afterwards  stationed  at  Newport,  R.  I.,  but  we  do  not  look  for 
much  that  is  of  special  historical  interest  in  the  life  of  an  officer  in  a 
peace  establishment. 

On  the  death  of  the  paymaster-general,  Robert  Brest,  in  1819, 
General  Towson  was  appointed  to  succeed  him,  and  came  to  Wash- 
ington in  the  September  of  that  year. 

The  paymaster's  department  is  one  of  the  largest  disbursing  agen- 
cies of  the  government ;  and  it  is  a  very  impressive  commentary  upon 
the  integrity,  watchfulness,  sijstcm,  and  business  ability  of  General  Tow- 
son,  that,  during  the  thirty-four  years  of  his  being  at  the  head  of  this  de- 
partment,more  than  seventy-nine  millions  of  dollars  have  been  disbursed 
all  over  the  Union,  and  in  Mexico  and  California,  without  loss  to  the 
government,  except  in  a  single  instance,  and  that  in  the  case  of  a  sub- 
ordinate, who  had  been  appointed  in  oppositioii  to  General  Towson's 
protest.  It  has  been,  perhaps,  too  much  the  tendency  of  public  senti- 
ment in  our  country,  whilst  it  accords  due  praise  to  brilliant  military 
achievements,  to  under-rate  civil  services,  that  may  be  of  equal  or  even 
greater  value  to  the  country,  and  which  cost  the  persons  who  render 
them  equal  or  greater  toil  and  self-denial.  Brilliant  and  valuable  as 
General  Towson's  services  undoubtedly  were  in  the  tented  and  the 
embattled  field,  his  biographer  is  of  opinion,  that  in  the  quiet  and  unos- 
tentatious administration  of  the  important  branch  of  the  service  com- 
mitted to  his  care,  for  the  last  thirty-four  years,  his  labors  have  been 
of  equal,  or  even  greater  importance  to  the  safety  and  prosperity  of  his 
country,  and  to  the  great  interests  of  liberty  and  civilization.  The  man 
who,  with  strong  arm  and  dauntless  courage,  rolls  back  the  tide  of  bat- 
tle, and  defends  his  country  from  an  invading  foe,  does  well — he  ought 
to  be  honored  and  revered.  And  the  man  who,  by  unflinching  probity, 
unflagging  industry,  and  business  talent,  and  address,  saves  the  internal 
government  of  his  country  from  corruption,  her  treasury  from  pecula- 
tion, and  her  departments  from  that  immorality  which  successful  fraud 
is  sure  to  foster,  does,  perhaps,  a  greater  work,  and  deserves  equally 
well  of  his  country.  General  Towson  has  done  both.  We  have  seen 
him  on  the  battle  field — a  thunderbolt  in  war.  Let  us  look  in  upon 
him,  in  the  quiet  seclusion  of  the  war-office,  an  important  arm  of  the 
cabinet — and  see  if  we  do  not  there  discover  equal  proofs  of  ability, 
skill,  probity,  patriotism,  and  high-toned  moral  courage.  The  father  of 
a  system  so  well  adjusted,  and  so  perfect  in  its  checks  and  balances,  a.s 
that  of  our  present  pay  department ;  the  man  who  has  proved  to  the 
country  and  to  the  world,  that  corruption  can  be  excluded  in  a  Re- 
public from  the  management  of  the  military  disbursements,  has  done 
a  great  work  for  his  country  and  for  civil  liberty.  And  in  looking 
at  the  history  of  this  part  of  his  life,  the  philosophic  reader  will  soon 
detect,  in  his  management  of  the  pay  department,  the  same  cool  forti- 
tude— the  same  promptness  and  decision — the  same  rapid,  yet  wise  de- 
sign, and  the  same  energy  of  execution,  which  characterised  the  youth- 
ful conqueror  of  the  Caledonia. 

At  the  time  of  his  entrance  upon  the  duties  of  the  office,  which 
employed  the  larger  portion  of  his  active  life,  the  pensions  of  widows 
and  orphans  of  volunteers,  who  died  in  service,  or  of  wounds  received 
in  service,  were  paid  through  the  paymaster-general's  office.     Very 


130  SKETCHES  OF   EMINENT  AMERICANS. 

extensive  frauds  had  been  perpetrated  upon  the  government,  principally 
by  parties  in  Tennessee,  under  pretext  of  collecting  such  pensions  ; 
and  they  were  eflected  by  means  of  forged  papers.  The  authors  of  the 
frauds  having,  by  means  unknown,  obtained  from  the  rolls  filed  in  the 
auditor's  office,  the  names  of  all  persons  whose  widows  or  children,  if 
any  survived,  would  be  entitled  to  pensions,  traversed  the  State,  and 
ascertained  who  of  the  volunteers  had  died  without  leaving  widows  or 
children,  and  forged  papers  in  all  such  cases.  It  was  required  that 
the  identity  of  the  pensioners  should  be  established  by  the  oaths  of 
disinterested  persons,  taken  before  magistrates  or  others  authorized  to 
administer  oaths,  which  fact  must  be  certified  by  the  clerk  of  the 
county  in  which  the  magistrate  resided,  with  the  seal  of  the  county 
affixed.  If  the  facts  stated  in  the  papers  as  to  time  and  place  of 
death,  length  of  service,  name  of  captain,  &c.,  corresponded  with  the 
remarks  on  the  muster  roll,  nothing  more  was  required  to  identify  the 
claimant.  This  the  forgers  were  enabled  to  accomplish,  by  obtaining, 
before  the  affidavits  were  made,  clerk's  certificates  that  certain  persons 
were  duly  authorized  to  administer  oaths.  These  certificates  were 
attached  to  forged  papers,  and  forwarded  to  agents  in  Washington, 
who  were  authorized  to  receipt  for  the  sums  to  be  paid.  These  frauds 
were  extensively  practised  while  Mr.  Brent  presided  over  the  depart- 
ment, and  were  continued  after  General  Towson's  appointment.  The 
frauds  were  discovered  in  the  following  way  :  The  agent  in  Washing- 
ton left  a  number  of  claims  at  the  office  to  be  examined,  and  was  to 
call  for  settlement  at  a  future  day.  Some  of  the  claims  were  imme- 
diately examined,  and  the  amounts,  believed  to  be  due,  transmitted 
directly  to  the  widow,  instead  of  paying  it  to  the  agent.  The  letter 
was  inclosed  to  the  postmaster  of  the  town  from  whence  the  claim 
came,  informing  him  what  it  contained,  and  requesting  him  to  have  it 
delivered,  as  the  widow,  not  expecting  a  letter,  might  not  inquire  for 
one.  The  return  mail  brought  the  postmaster's  answer — "  that  there 
must  be  some  mistake — that  no  such  widow  lived  in  that  vicinity — 
that  he  knew  the  volunteer  who  died,  as  was  stated,  but  he  was  an 
unmarried  man  up  to  the  hour  of  his  death."  A  clear  case  of  fraud 
was  here  detected.  The  Washington  agent  was  sent  for,  and  the 
postmaster's  letter  shown  to  him.  He  alleged  that  the  claims  had 
been  sent  to  him  for  collection,  and  that  he  believed  them  to  be  cor- 
rect ;  that  the  persons  who  sent  them  requested  him  to  retain  the 
money  for  a  few  days,  when  they  would  call  for  it.  General  Towson 
arranged  with  the  agent  that  he  should  bring  the  forgers  to  the  pay 
department,  when  the  general  would  have  them  arrested  and  examined. 
Judge  Thurston,  of  the  United  States  District  Court,  and  a  peace  offi- 
cer, were  in  attendance  to  make  the  arrest,  and  conduct  the  examina- 
tion. The  forgers  came,  were  arrested,  but  took  the  ground  that,  if 
fraud  had  bee'n  committed,  they  were  ignorant  of  it,  having  only  made 
out  the  papers  from  the  statements  of  the  parties  claiming.  After  a 
tedious  examination,  the  judge  came  to  the  conclusion  that  the  evi- 
dence was  not  sufficient  to  justify  a  commitment,  and  was  about  to 
discharge  the  prisoners,  when  it  was  suggested  that  there  might  bo 
evidence  with  their  baggage  which  was  at  Brown's  Hotel.  This  was 
sent  for  ;  and  a  valise  and  two  saddlebags  were  produced,  which  con- 


NATHAN  TOWSON,  OF  MARYLAND.  131 

tained  claims  in  different  stages  of  preparation,  clerk's  certificates, 
with  the  county  seals  ready  to  be  attached,  &c.  The  judge  deemed 
the  evidence  sufficient.  They  were  committed,  tried,  and  sent  to  the 
penitentiary.  This  broke  up  the  Tennessee  gang  of  forgers,  but  not 
until  they  had  defrauded  the  government  out  of  some  70,000  dollars. 

The  army  was,  by  the  act  of  1821,  reduced  to  6,184  men.  It 
was  under  this  act  that  Mr.  Calhoun,  then  Secretary  of  War,  gave  to 
the  country  his  famous  plan  of  a  "  skeleton  army,"  for  a  peace  estab- 
lishment;  to  be  enlarged,  when  needful,  by  volunteers.  Of  how  much 
value  that  plan  has  proved,  the  success  of  the  United  States  army  in 
Mexico,  may  attest ;  as  that  army  was  formed  upon  the  basis  of  his 
scheme.  Mr.  Calhoun,  in  devising  it,  consulted  the  principal  officers 
of  the  staff  at  Washington,  in  regard  to  its  details,  and  General  Tow- 
son  among  the  rest. 

In  selecting  and  arranging  officers  for  the  reduced  army,  the  Board 
of  officers  who  performed  that  duty  assigned  General  Towson  to  the 
command  of  a  regiment  of  artillery,  and  transferred  to  the  office  from 
which  he  was  removed,  the  adjutant-general.  This  was  done  during 
the  recess  of  the  Senate  ;  but  when  that  body  met,  it  disapproved  of 
these  transfers,  and  restored  General  Towson  to  the  pay  department, 
to  which  he  returned  in  1822.  At  the  head  of  this  department  he 
continues  till  the  present  (May,  1853)  ;  and  the  manner  in  which  he  has 
discharged  its  responsible  duties,  and  the  appreciation  of  his  services 
by  Congress,  will  be  shown  by  the  following  extract  from  a  report  of 
the  Committe  on  Military  Affairs,  in  1850. 

Mr.  Evans,  from  the  Committee  on  Military  Affairs,  made  the  fol- 
lowing report : 

The  Committee  on  Military  Affairs  deemed  it  their  duty  to  inquire 
into  the  manner  in  which  the  large  appropriations  for  the  war  with 
Mexico  were  disbursed  by  the  pay  department ;  and,  with  this  pur- 
pose, addressed  a  communication  to  the  head  of  that  department.  The 
report  of  this  distinguished  and  venerable  officer  exhibits  a  degree  of 
probity,  fidelity,  and  accuracy,  which  is  eminently  creditable  to  its 
officers,  and  is  likewise  a  source  of  just  prir'e  to  the  country.  The 
sum  of  twenty-four  million  one  hundred  and  sixteen  thousand  one  hun- 
dred and  thirty-eight  dollars  was  received  by  the  pay  department,  and 
distributed  amongst  thirty-five  officers.  Of  that  sum  not  a  dollar  was 
lost  by  accident,  robbery,  theft,  capture,  transportation,  or  in  any  man- 
ner whatever.  Regarding  the  accidents  and  perils  incident  to  a  state 
of  war,  and  the  hazards  of  the  camp  and  the  march,  it  is  believed  that 
this  result  finds  no  parallel  in  the  history  of  disbursements  so  large. 
It  is  the  result  of  the  admirable  system  which  the  sagacity  of  the  en- 
lightened and  experienced  officer  at  the  head  of  that  department  has 
introduced  and  perfected,  no  less  than  of  the  judicious  selection  of  its 
officers.  The  entire  sum  above  specified  has  been  expended,  except 
nine  thousand  eight  hundred  and  thirty-eight  dollars  and  forty-four 
cents,  which  consists,  with  the  exception  of  two  thousand  one  hundred 
dollars,  of  items  suspended,  disallowed,  or  rejected  by  the  accounting 
officers  of  the  treasury,  in  the  settlement  of  the  accounts  of  paymasters 
who  died,  resigned,  or  were  disbanded.  This  latter  amount  is  secured 
by  ample  bonds.    The  sum  of  two  thousand  one  hundred  dollars,  which 


132  SKETCHES  OF  EMINENT  AMERICANS. 

constitutes  part  of  the  nine  thousand  eight  hundred  and  thirty-eight 
dollars  and  forty-four  cents,  is  alleged  to  have  been  erroneously 
charged  to  one  of  the  paymasters,  who  received,  without  counting  some 
boxes  of  specie  from  the  Bank  of  St.  Louis. 

Since  1820,  nearly  eighty  millions  have  been  disbursed,  with  simi- 
lar exactness  and  exemption  from  loss.  Well  might  the  Committee  of 
Congress  declare,  that  "  this  result  finds  no  parallel  in  the  history  of 
disbursements  so  large." 

It  may  be  of  importance  to  the  country  that  the  process,  by  which 
a  result  so  highly  satisfactory  was  attained,  should  be  known  ;  and  we 
therefore  place  on  record  the  following  communication  from  General 
Towson  to  the  Chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Military  Afiairs,  which 
explains  the  simple  yet  efficient  expedient  by  which  he  guarded  the 
public  service  against  defalcation. 

"  Paymaster-General's  Office, 

"  Washington,  January  11,  18.53. 

"  My  Dear  Sir  : — On  looking  over  a  report  I  had'*the  honor  to 
make  to  the  Secretary  of  War,  Mr.  Cass,  on  the  13th  of  November, 
1832,  on  the  subject  of  re-organizing  the  pay  department,  I  find  that 
I  reported  against  it,  and  recommended  a  few  alterations  ;  all  of  which 
have  since  been  authorized  by  Congress. 

"  It  has  occurred  to  me  that,  as  to  the  method  pursued  with  paymas- 
ter's accounts  before  turning  them  over  to  the  accounting  officers,  is  to 
be  ascribed  the  exemption  of  the  department  from  losses  form  any 
years  past,  especially  during  the  war  with  Mexico,  it  would  not  be 
amiss  to  communicate  it  to  the  Military  Committee,  of  which  I  per- 
ceive you  are  a  member,  particularly  as  it  was  adopted  on  my  recom- 
mendation and  responsibility,  and  is  not  required  by  law  ;  neither  is  it 
practised  in  any  other  of  the  military  disbursing  offices. 

"  The  act  of  the  20th  April,  1818,  provided  eight  clerks  for  the 
office  of  the  paymaster-general  ;  these  were  continued  until  1821, 
when  that  number  was  reduced  to  three,  but  the  act  was  never  re- 
pealed, and  their  services  have  been  put  in  requisition  from  time  to 
time,  as  wanted.* 

"  It  was  the  practice  of  the  department,  as  far  back  as  its  records 
date,  and  for  several  years  after  my  appointment  as  paymaster-general, 
when  the  accounts  of  paymasters  were  received,  to  acknowledge  the 
receipt  and  pass  them  to  the  accounting  officers  of  the  treasury,  in 
whose  offices  they  are  examined  in  the  order  received,  and  when  set- 
tled, the  disbursing  officer  is  furnished  a  list  of  differences  between  his 
statement  and  the  settlement  made  at  the  treasury.  While  Mr.  Cal- 
houn was  Secretary  of  War,  the  accounting  oflficers  were  required  to 
transmit  their  statements  of  differences  to  paymasters  through  the 
paymaster-general  ;  this  kept  him  informed  of  the  official  balances 

*  It  appears  from  the  records  of  the  office  that  there  were  three  clerks  in  1821  ; 
the  number  was  increased,  in  1837,  to  four  ;  in  1840,  to  five  ;  in  1846,  to  seven  ; 
and  in  1848,  to  eight.  The  business  of  the  office  had  accumulated  much  before  the 
close  of  the  Mexican  war  ;  but  by  employing  the  paymasters  and  their  clerks  that 
were  waiting  discharge,  we  were  enabled  to  get  through  it  by  the  time  stated. 


NATHAN  TOWSON,  OF  MARYLAND,  133 

due  by  paymasters,  and  made  him  responsible  for  the  speedy  settle- 
ment thereof.  Some  time  after  the  appointment  of  Major  W.  B.  Lewis 
to  the  office  of  second  auditor  of  the  treasury,  he  took  it  into  his  head 
that  it  was  derogatory  to  his  office  to  have  its  business  examined  by 
the  paymaster-general,  and  claimed  the  right  to  correspond  officially 
with  the  paymaster  direct.  This  presented  a  serious  difficulty  to  the 
settlement  of  disallowances,  deprived  me  of  the  opportunity  of  giving 
explanations  that  might  remove  suspensions,  and  greatly  embarrassed 
the  office.  As  the  examination  of  accounts  in  the  auditor's  office  was 
frequently  years  behind,  the  balance  lists  furnished  paymasters  by  no 
means  enabled  them  to  recover  sums  improperly  paid  ;  many  persons 
receiving  having  died  or  left  the  service  before  the  paymaster  knew 
the  account  was  disallowed.  This  determined  me  to  have  the  accounts 
strictly  examined  in  my  office  before  passing  them  to  the  auditor,  and 
all  payments  deemed  improper  noticed.  Our  list  of  the  irregular  or 
deficient  vouchers  was  sent  to  the  auditor,  with  the  accounts,  and  a 
duplicate  to  the  paymaster,  who  makes  the  proper  corrections  at  next 
payment.  As  the  examination  made  by  the  paymaster-general  is  not 
called  for  by  law,  the  person  improperly  paid  is  not  to  be  governed 
thereby  until  it  is  confirmed  by  the  treasury  officers  ;  but  a  paymaster 
will  be  justified  in  withholding  the  amount  reported  as  improper,  until 
a  final  settlement  by  the  auditor  and  comptroller. 

"  It  is  to  the  prompt  examination  of  the  accounts  in  the  paymaster- 
general's  office,  as  before  stated,  that  I  ascribe  the  freedom  of  the 
department  from  defalcation.  It  will  be  readily  perceived,  that  if  the 
accounts  of  the  department  during  the  war  with  Mexico  had  remained 
as  long  before  settlement  as  those  of  the  war  of  1812,  there  would  be 
but  little  hope  of  giving  explanations  that  would  remove  the  objections 
of  accounting  officers,  or  of  recovering  disallowed  payments  to  volun- 
teers, and  to  dead  and  discharged  soldiers  of  the  regular  army. 

"  It  appears  from  the  accompanying  report,  that,  in  the  war  of  1812, 
the  defalcations  amounted  to  more  than  double  the  expenses  of  the 
department,  and,  from  another  report,  exceeded  9 DO, 000  dollars.  My 
answer  to  the  call  of  the  Military  Committee  of  the  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives, shows  the  expenditures  of  the  department,  during  the  war 
with  Mexico,  to  have  been  $24,116,138  14  ;  all  of  which  was  at  that 
time  accounted  for,  except  $9,838  44,  which  were  secured  by  bonds 
to  the  amount  of  200,000  dollars.  The  auditor  states,  that  of  this  sum 
$1,210  40  have  since  been  paid,  and  that  suits  have  been  brought 
against  the  principal  and  sureties  for  the  remainder,  which  they  think 
they  do  not  owe. 

"  The  exemption  of  the  department  from  loss  pending  the  Mexican 
war,  and  the  subsequent  discharge  of  the  troops,  particularly  volun- 
teers and  irregulars,  whose  papers  are  almost  always  informal  and 
imperfect,  far  exceeded  my  most  sanguine  expectations  ;  it  probably 
never  occurred  before  with  any  disbursing  department,  certainly  never 
under  similar  circumstances. 

"  It  would  be  impossible  for  the  officers  of  the  Treasury  Department 
to  keep  disbursing  accounts  fully  settled  up  in  time  of  war,  even  with 
the  most  liberal  allowance  of  clerks,  if  the  evidence  required  by  law, 
and  the  formalities  made  necessary  by  usage,  are  observed  ;  and,  as  it 


134  SKETCHES  OF  EMINENT  AMERICANS. 

would  be  wrong  in  principle  for  disbursing  departments,  finally,  to 
settle  the  accounts  of  their  officers,  perhaps  the  plan  of  a  rigid  exami- 
nation of  them  in  such  offices,  before  turning  them  over  to  the  treasury, 
is  the  best  that  could  be  adopted.  I  am  convinced  that  to  it,  more 
than  to  any  one  thing,  is  it  owing  that  the  department  has  escaped 
loss,  and  the  ruin  of  some  of  its  most  valuable  officers. 

"  If  you  deem  it  proper,  I  will  thank  you  to  submit  this  communica- 
tion to  the  Military  Committee. 

"  Very  respectfully, 

"  Your  obedient  servant, 

"  N.  TowsoN, 

"  Paymaster- General. 
"  Hon.  Alexander  Evans, 

'^  Hovse  of  Representatives.^' 

Besides  the  services  rendered  by  General  Towson,  in  the  direct 
duties  of  his  office,  he  was  often  counselled,  as  the  senior  officer  o» 
that  branch  of  the  stafl','in  regard  to  important  measures  atfecting  the 
management  of  public  atl'airs,  especially  in  the  army  ;  and  it  will  now 
be  fully  known,  how  much  the  country  owes  to  his  sound  judgment, 
liis  practical  views,  and  the  results  of  his  long  and  varied  experience. 
As  an  illustration  of  this  remark,  we  may  mention  the  following  :  In 
1836,  the  Hon.  B.  F.  Butler,  then  acting  as  Secretary  of  War,  ex- 
pressed to  General  Towson  a  wish,  that  he  would  submit,  in  writing, 
his  opinions  in  regard  to  the  delays  and  failures  in  conducting  the  In- 
dian wars  in  Florida.  This  the  General  did,  in  a  very  able  paper, 
which  is  on  file  in  the  War  Department ;  and  in  which  he  points  out, 
in  a  masterly  manner,  the  errors  that  had  defeated  and  protracted  our 
military  operations  in  Florida  ;  and  the  way  in  which  these  errors  might 
be  avoided.  The  document  is  too  lengthy  to  be  here  inserted  ;  but  it 
might  furnish  a  very  profitable  military  study  for  the  young  soldier,  who 
wishes  to  avail  himself  of  the  sagacity  and  experience  of  one  of  our 
ablest  commanders.  The  following  letter  will  show  the  estimation  in 
which  this  document  was  held  by  the  department,  and  the  benefit 
which  resulted  from  it. 

"  W^ar  Department, 

"  March  13,  1837. 

"  Sir, — Before  quitting  the  department ,  I  desire  to  present  to  you  my 
best  thanks,  for  the  valuable  paper  communicated  to  me  by  you,  on  the 
17th  of  November  last,  on  the  subject  of  military  operations  in  Flo- 
rida. It  was  of  essential  service  to  me,  in  the  preparation  of  the  an- 
nual report ;  and  it  gave  me  so  lucid  and  comprehensive  a  view  of 
the  proper  mode  of  conducting  the  operations  referred  to,  as  to  qualify 
me,  in  some  respects,  for  the  general  supervision  of  that  important 
matter.  I  have  heretofore  personally  expressed  to  you  these  acknow- 
.edgments  ;  but  as  I  shall  leave  your  communication  on  the  files  of  the 


NATHAN  TOWSON,  OF  MARYLAND.  135 

department,  I  am  anxious  that  its  records  should  contain  this  evidence 
of  the  light  in  which  I  regarded  it. 

"  Very  respectfully, 

"  Your  most  obedient  servant, 

"B.  F.  Butler, 
'■^Secretary  of  War,  ad  interim. 
"  General  N.  Towson, 
"  Paymaster- General, 

"  United  States  Army.''^ 

Nor  was  the  foregoing  the  only  instance  in  which  the  military 
genius  and  experience  of  Towson  was  called  into  requisition,  when  he 
himself  appeared  not  on  the  field.  If  the  secret  history  of  more  recent 
and  more  magnificent  military  operations  shall  be  published,  the  ex- 
tent to  which  his  counsels  were  sought  and  followed  will  be  better 
known,  and  the  value  of  his  services  will  be  more  adequately  appre- 
ciated. 

The  great  southern  statesman,  than  whom  there  were  few  better 
judges  of  character  and  public  merit,  held  the  subject  of  this  memoir  in 
high  esteem,  as  will  appear  from  a  letter  addressed  to  President  Tay- 
lor, at  the  time  of  General  Scott's  accession  to  the  office  of  com- 
mander-in-chief ;  and  as  the  letter  forms  an  appropriate  close  for  this 
sketch  of  our  hero's  military  character,  we  insert  it. 

"  Senate  Chamber,  29th  June,  1841. 

"  Dear  Sir, — Should  the  nomination  of  Scott  be  confirmed,  of 
which  I  suppose  there  is  no  doubt,  I  would  bring  the  name  of  General 
Towson  to  your  notice,  as  a  proper  selection  to  fill  his  place.  I  know 
him  well.  He  has  few  equals  and  no  superior  in  the  army,  as  a  man 
or  an  officer.  Of  his  public  service  in  the  late  war,  I  need  say  no- 
thing :  it  is  known  to  you  and  to  the  whole  country  to  have  been  bril- 
liant, when  compared  with  the  bravest  and  most  skilful.  In  relation 
to  his  rank,  I  enclose  a  paper,  prepared  for  me,  at  my  request,  the  ac- 
curacy of  which  may  be  relied  on.  I  enclose  it,  not  that  I  suppose 
you  will  be  governed  by  rank  ;  as  I  hold  you  have  the  right  of  selec- 
tion ;  but  it  may  have  some  weight.  This  is  sufficiently  high  to  sus- 
tain his  nomination,  without  giving,  on  that  score,  the  least  shock  to 
the  feelings  of  the  army  ;  while  his  unquestionable  merit,  as  a  man 
and  officer,  could  not  fail  to  cause  his  nomination  to  be  heartily  re- 
ceived by  both  the  army  and  country.  I  have  written  what  I  have, 
solely  to  do  justice  to  the  merits  of  General  Towson,  and  from  a  re 
gard  for  the  good  of  the  service. 

"  With  great  respect, 

"  Yours,  truly, 

'  J.  C.  Calhoun. 
**  The  President." 

The  subject  of  this  memoir  has  been  more  than  forty-one  y^ajs  in 
the  service  without  arrest  or  censure.     He  has  received  five  brevets, 


136  SKETCHES   OF  EMINENT  AMERICANS. 

three  for  gallant  conduct  in  the  face  of  the  enemy,  and  two  for  meri- 
torious conduct.  By  the  recommendation  of  the  President,  and  con- 
currence of  the  Senate,  in  1834,  an  additional  brevet  was  conferred  on 
such  officers  as  had  distinguished  themselves  in  the  war  of  1812,  the 
brevet  to  date  ten  years  after  the  war  brevet.  By  this  General  Tow- 
son  was  entitled  to  rank  as  brevet  brigadier-general,  from  August  15, 
1824,  ten  years  after  "  the  defence  of  Fort  Erie." 

General  Towson  was  engaged,  during  the  period  of  bis  military  life, 
as  friend  of  one  or  other  of  the  parties,  in  more  than  twenty  "  affairs 
of  honor"  between  his  brother  officers  and  others  ;  but  in  every  instance, 
by  his  prudence  and  influence,  succeeded  in  bringing  them  to  an 
amicable  termination  without  bloodshed.  His  position,  and  the  confi- 
dence reposed  in  him,  rendered  him  peculiarly  liable  to  be  called  upon 
in  matters  of  this  kind.  No  man  more  decidedly  reprobates  this  mode 
of  settling  personal  difficulties,  nor  deplores  the  necessity  which,  by 
the  customs  of  the  age,  has  sometimes  forced  men  of  honorable  senti- 
ments to  resort  to  it. 

General  Towson  has  received  from  his  countrymen,  at  different 
times,  several  marks  of  respect,  amongst  which  may  be  mentioned  the 
following  :  At  the  close  of  the  war,  the  citizens  of  Buffalo  presented 
him  with  an  elegant  sword,  with  inscriptions  expressive  of  their  admi- 
ration and  gratitude  for  his  services  in  defence  of  their  frontier.  This 
compliment  was  all  the  more  distinguished,  as  he  was  the  only  officer 
who  received  such  a  token  of  approbation,  and  as  those  who  presented 
it  were  eye-witnesses  of  the  operations  of  the  army,  and  of  the  conduct 
of  its  officers.  His  native  state  also  presented  him  with  a  sword, 
inscribed  with  the  names  of  the  principal  battles  in  which  he  had  dis- 
tinguished himself. 

The  Society  of  the  Cincinnati  of  Maryland  elected  him  an  honorary 
member  ;  and  the  honorary  degree  of  Master  of  Arts  was  conferred 
upon  him  by  Brovm  University,  Rhode  Island. 

General  Towson  is  a  decided  friend  and  supporter  of  the  Christian 
religion,  considers  its  principles  the  great  safeguards  of  social  order 
and  national  prosperity,  and  hesitates  not  to  avow  his  confidence  in 
its  provisions  as  the  basis  of  his  personal  hopes.  His  example  in  pri- 
vate life  is  such  as  can  be  warmly  commended  to  the  imitation  of  his 
young  countrymen.  He  is  eminently  a  pure  man,  both  in  his  private 
and  public  character  ;  and  his  whole  history,  and  the  position  which 
he  now  occupies  in  public  esteem,  as  his  life  verges  to  threescore 
years  and  ten,  forcibly  illustrates  the  trite  but  trulhfid  maxim,  that 
"  honesty  is  the  best  policy." 

May  his  evening  be  as  peaceful  as  his  day  has  been  honorable  and 
useful  ;  and  when  he  shall  receive,  from  the  Great  Captain,  his  final 
discharge  from  the  service  of  God  and  his  country,  in  this  world  of 
toil  and  battle,  may  he  share  a  triumph  more  magnificent  than  any 
that  he  won  on  earth,  and  may  others  arise  to  emulate  his  virtues  and 
his  valor. 


GEORGE  PEABODY,  OF  LONDON.  137 

GEOKGE     PEABODY, 

THE  EMINENT  AMERICAN  BANKER. 

George  Peabodv,  now  a  resident  of  London,  was  born  in  the  South 
parish  of  Danvers,  February  18,  1795.  At  the  early  age  of  eleven 
years,  he  was  placed  in  the  grocery  store  of  Captain  Sylvester  Proctor, 
where  he  remained  about  four  years,  receiving  from  Mr.  Proctor  and 
his  excellent  lady  (a  sister  of  the  Rev.  Daniel  Poor,  the  devoted  mis- 
sionary to  Ceylon)  parental  kindness,  together  with  such  instructions 
and  precepts  as,  "  by  endeavoring  to  practice  the  same  in  after  life," 
he  remarks,  "  I  owe  much  of  my  success."  An  anecdote  is  told  of 
George  Peabody,  relating  to  this  period  of  his  life,  which  however 
trivial  in  itself,  is  strongly  tinctured  with  the  same  determined  energy 
and  assiduous  application  for  which  his  subsequent  career  has  been 
so  eminently  distinguished,  and  to  which,  with  the  blessing  of  Provi- 
dence, he  owes  so  much  of  his  prosperity. 

It  appears  that  among  other  duties  devolving  upon  the  assistant  of 
Mr.  Proctor  was  that  of  the  manufacture  of  iDhips  ;  and  Mr.  Proctor 
had  often  extolled  the  dexterity  of  one  Life  Smith,  a  man  previously 
in  his  employ,  who  in  one  day  had  made  six  dozen  of  these  same 
whips,  which  was  deemed  a  brilliant  specimen  of  despatch.  This 
was  enough  to  stimulate  George  to  action,  who,  though  but  a  boy  of 
eleven  years,  had  enough  emulation  to  compete  with  his  predecessor, 
who  was  a  man.  He  accordingly  one  day,  during  the  absence  of  Mr. 
Proctor,  set  to  work  heart  and.  hands,  and  reared  a  glorious  pile  of 
eight  dozen  whips,  which  were  proudly  displayed  to  the  astonished 
gaze  of  good  Mr.  Proctor  on  his  return  home  in  the  evening.  Nor 
was  this  the  first  time  George  had  surprised  his  friends  by  a  display 
of  energetic  application  rarely  met  with  in  one  so  young,  and  when  met 
with,  always  indicative  of  rare  achievements  in  after  life.  During  the 
year  1805,  he  passed  some  time  with  his  grandparents,  who  resided 
at  Thetford,  Vermont.  While  here,  his  grandfather  wished  to  have  a 
hill-side  cleared,  which  was  overgrown  with  sumac  trees.  This  hill- 
side included  many  acres,  and  the  trees  numbered  some  hundreds. 
George  undertook  to  cut  them  down,  and  his  grandfather  gave  him  a 
week  for  the  task.  At  early  morning,  forth  sallied  George,  axe  in 
hand,  and  by  the  evening  of  the  same  day  the  task  was  accomplished. 
The  sun  went  down,  and  left  not  a  sumac  standing  to  exult  over  its 
fallen  companions.  This  feat  called  into  requisition  his  physical 
strength,  as  well  as  his  strength  of  purpose,  and  both,  doubtless,  were 
invigorated  by  the  performance.  At  any  rate,  the  accomplishment  of 
exploits  such  as  these  must  have  given  him  a  degree  of  confidence  in 
his  own  capabilities  which  would  prove  a  valuable  auxiliary  in  the 
planning  and  execution  of  graver  and  more  important  projects.  Hap- 
pily the  energy  so  conspicuous  in  these  little  incidents  was  blended 
with  a  most  unyielding  perseverance,  as  the  following  circumstance 
will  show.  It  happened  that  a  man  named  Johnson,  notorious  for  the 
non-payment  of  his  debts,  owed  two  dollars  to  George's  grandfather, 


138  SKETCHES  OF  EMINENT  AMERICANS. 

the  payment  of  which  seemed  altogether  a  hopeless  matter.  This 
was  told  to  George,  with  the  promise  that  a  quarter  of  a  dollar  should 
reward  his  success  if  he  could  get  in  the  debt.  "  I  will  go  twice  to- 
morrow," he  exclaimed,  jumping  from  his  seat  with  impetuosity  ;  and 
accordingly  on  the  morrow  George  paid  his  first  visit  to  Johnson,  who 
lived  about  a  mile  from  the  abode  of  his  grandfather.  From  this 
time  the  unfortunate  debtor  found  himself  assailed  with  a  determined 
perseverance  which  might  have  rivalled  that  of  the  importunate  widow 
herself.  For  two  whole  months  George  kept  up  a  series  of  applica- 
tions with  unabating  zeal,  when  at  length  the  man's  tenacity  yielded 
to  a  determination  which  he  clearly  foresaw  would  relax  only  with  the 
attainment  of  its  object.  That  object  was  attained  by  dint  of  unwea- 
ried application.  The  two  dollars  were  handed  over  to  George,  who 
was  rewarded,  according  to  promise,  with  one  eighth  of  the  amount  ; 
and  a  munificent  reward  it  doubtless  was  in  George's  estimation — 
quite  an  important  capital.  It  was  soon  after  augmented,  and  the 
additional  sum,  like  the  quarter  of  a  dollar,  was  won.  The  day  fol- 
lowing, that  of  the  Thanksgiving,  (1805,)  was  a  high  day  fur  rural 
sports  and  holiday  fun  of  all  kinds.  At  Danvers  it  was  duly  observed  ; 
and  a  Mr.  Wheeler,  landlord  of  an  inn  near  the  South  Meeting-house, 
to  promote  the  merriment  of  the  day,  and  his  own  interests  withal,  put 
up  a  sheep  to  be  shot  at,  which  was  to  be  the  prize  of  the  successful 
marksman.  George  was  there,  and  looked  on  at  many  a  luckless  aim, 
for  balls  had  glanced  wide  of' the  mark  from  more  than  a  hundred  prac- 
tised hands.  He  thought  he  could  hit  the  mark,  and  felt  a  strong 
desire  to  shoot ;  but  he  had  no  gun,  no  ammunition,  and  could  not 
spare  the  price  of  an  aim,  which  was  12}^  cents.  He  was  not,  how- 
ever, one  to  halt  at  obstacles,  while  there  was  the  slightest  possible 
chance  of  surmounting  them.  He  had  found  a  spent  ball,  which  was 
something  towards  it.  With  this  he  applied  to  the  landlord,  who,  by 
way  of  encouragement,  and  little  dreaming  his  sheep  would  be  in  peril 
by  the  act,  lent  him  a  musket,  (a  most  ungainly  one  for  the  hands  of  a 
boy  of  that  kind,  called  the  King's  Arms,  the  rifle  or  light  sporting  gun 
being  at  that  time  rarely  used)  ;  besides  this,  he  supplied  him  with 
powder,  and  allowed  him  to  shoot  at  "'  half-price."  Having  charged 
his  heavy  piece,  and  placed  himself  at  the  prescribed  point,  which  was 
several  hundred  yards  from  the  prize,  with  steady  eye  and  hand  George 
took  his  aim,  and  the  next  instant  down  fell  the  hapless  sheep,  shot 
through  the  heart.  Shouts  of  enthusiastic  cheering  burst  from  the 
spectators,  of  whom  there  were  between  two  and  three  hundred. 
Amidst  it  all,  George  triumphantly  bore  oft"  his  prize,  which  he  after- 
wards sold  for  two  dollars. 

In  1810,  in  the  hope  of  a  better  situation,  he  left  Captain  Proctor  ; 
but  the  embargo  and  expected  war  with  England  rendered  the  time 
most  unpropitious  for  obtaining  employment  in  any  mercantile  pursuit. 
That  year,  therefore,  was  principally  spent  in  Thelford  with  his  ma- 
ternal grandparents.  This  was  his  only  time  of  comparative  leisure 
since  his  eleventh  year.  In  April,  1811,  he  was  received  as  a  clerk 
in  the  dry  goods  store  of  his  eldest  brother,  David  Peabody,  of  New- 
buryport,  who  had  himself  just  attained  his  majority,  and  was  yet 
hardly  established  in  business.     A  few  weeks  subsequently  his  father 


GKORGE   PEABODV,  OI"   LONDON.  139 

was  very  suddenly  removed  by  death  ;  and  soon  after,  the  great  fire  at 
Newburyport  took  place,  by  which  his  brother  was  a  sufferer,  and 
failed  in  business,  thus  throwing  the  younger  brother  again  out  of 
employment.  He  now  found  himself,  at  the  age  of  sixteen,  suddenly 
and  unexpectedly  an  orphan,  without  funds,  without  a  situation,  without 
influential  friends,  and  the  prospect  of  the  times  as  gloomy  as  can  well 
be  imagined.  On  the  4th  of  May,  1812,  not  finding  employment,  he 
left  New-England  with  his  uncle.  General  John  Peabody,  who  had 
been  unfortunate  in  business,  and  was  at  this  time  in  the  most  dis- 
couraging circumstances.  They  sailed  from  Newburyport  in  the  brig 
"  Fame,"  Captain  Davis,  for  Georgetown,  (D.  C.)  John  Peabody 
established  himself  in  Georgetown,  but  owing  to  his  pecuniary  posi- 
tion, the  business  was  conducted  in  the  name  of  his  nephew,  and  the 
management  of  it  devolved  chiefly  upon  him. 

On  the  18th  of  June  following,  about  a  month  after  his  arrival  at 
Georgetown,  war  was  declared  with  England,  and  volunteer  compa- 
nies were  formed  and  enrolled  for  the  defence  of  the  country.  Al- 
though not  yet  arrived  at  the  age  when  he  would  be  required  to  do 
military  service,  young  Peabody  was  a  staunch  patriot,  and  loved  his 
country  too  well  to  lose  an  opportunity  of  serving  her.  He,  accord- 
ingly, was  one  of  the  first  volunteers  in  an  artillery  company,  formed 
at  Georgetown,  under  the  command  of  Colonel  George  Peter,  (whose 
lady  was  a  niece  of  Washington's.)  In  the  following  July  he  was  on 
active  duty  at  Fort  Warburton,  messing  with  Francis  S.  Key,  (the 
writer  of  the  "  Star-spangled  Banner,")  who  was  a  private  in  the  same 
company.  The  fort  occupied  a  position  of  the  first  importance,  guard- 
ing the  river  pass  to  Alexandria  and  Washington,  and  the  English 
were  at  this  time  menacing  it  with  a  large  fleet  they  had  brought  into 
the  Potomac.  Here  it  was  that  George  Peabody  was  stationed  ;  and, 
though  not  present  at  any  engagement,  he  distinguished  himself  by  the 
prompt  readiness  and  rapidity  with  which  he  performed  the  various 
evolutions  and  duties  connected  with  the  artillery  service.  He  con- 
tinued to  do  duty  in  this  company  till  the  autumn  of  1813. 

With  his  uncle  he  remained  about  two  years,  faithfully  and  indus- 
triously performing  those  duties  and  services  for  which  he  could  have 
the  prospect  of  little  if  any  remuneration.  About  this  time,  it  having 
occurred  to  him  that  his  name  being  used  in  the  transactions  of 
the  business,  he  might  be  responsible  for  its  liabilities  when  he 
should  become  of  age,  he  freed  himself  from  his  engagements  to  his 
uncle,  to  whom  his  services  were  so  necessary,  but  with  many  painful 
feelings  that  his  duty  to  himself  compelled  him  to  this  course.  Soon 
after  this,  and  before  he  was  nineteen  years  old,  a  wealthy  merchant 
(Mr.  Elisha  Riggs,  now  of  New-York)  proposed  receiving  him  as  a 
partner  in  the  dry-goods  trade,  Mr.  Riggs  finding  the  capital,  and  Mr. 
Peabody  taking  the  management  of  the  business.  He  was  at  this 
time,  as  will  be  remembered  by  those  of  us  who  saw  him  on  his  brief 
visits  to  his  native  town,  quite  six  feet  in  height,  of  manly  form  and 
proportions,  while  premature  care  and  anxiety  had  given  to  his  coun- 
tenance the  expression  of  maturer  years.  His  partner,  therefore,  after 
the  Avritings  of  copartnership  were  drawn,  was  surprised  to  find  that 
his  contract  had  been  made   with   a   boy.     He  was,  however,  kind 


140  SKETCHES  OF  EMINENT  AMERICANS. 

enough  to  forgive  the  fault  which  had  been  so  honestly  confessed,  and 
which  time  would  so  quickly  amend,  and  the  connection  proved  a 
most  fortunate  one  for  both  parties.  The  house  of  Riggs  &  Peabody 
was  removed  to  Baltimore  in  1815,  and  other  houses  were  established 
in  Philadelphia  and  New- York  in  1 822 — the  partnership  continuing, 
in  terms  of  five  years  each,  for  fifteen  years,  several  other  individuals 
occupying  successively  subordinate  situations  in  the  house.  In  1829, 
Mr.  Elisha  Riggs  retired  from  the  firm  ;  but  his  nephew,  Mr.  Samuel 
Riggs,  who  had  been  admitted  five  years  before,  remained  ;  and  Mr. 
Peabody  became  senior  partner,  under  the  firm  of  Peabody,  Riggs  & 
Co.  During  the  preceding  fifteen  years,  Mr.  Peabody's  labors  were 
excessive.  His  frequent  collecting  excursions,  occupying  usually  six 
or  seven  weeks,  were  performed  on  horseback,  through  the  wildest 
regions  of  Maryland  and  Virginia,  and  in  the  most  inclement  seasons 
of  the  year. 

The  burden  of  the  extensive  operations  of  the  house  rested  principally 
upon  him ;  and  from  his  earliest  youth  the  cares  and  perplexities,  the 
struggles  and  disappointment  which  usually  advance  but  with  mature 
manhood,  had  been  drawing  forth  and  perfecting  those  peculiar  traits  of 
character  of  which  his  childhood  gave  promise,  and  for  which,  as  a  man, 
he  has  been  so  highly  distinguished.  And  here,  might  we  invade  the 
sanctity  of  his  early  home  and  the  circle  of  his  immediate  connections, 
we  could  light  around  the  youthful  possessor  of  a  few  hundreds  of  dollars 
— the  avails  of  the  most  severe  and  untiring  eflbrts — a  brighter  halo 
than  his  elegant  hospitalities,  his  munificent  donations,  or  his  liberal 
public  charities,  now  shed  over  the  rich  London  banker.  We  will 
venture  to  state  in  general  terms,  that  before  he  was  twenty  years  old, 
he  had  shared  his  limited  means  with  his  widovved  mother  and  orphan 
brothers  and  sisters  ;  and  at  the  age  of  twenty-four,  he  voluntarily 
charged  himself  with  their  entire  support,  educating  the  latter,  and 
fulfilling  to  them  the  part  of  the  most  indulgent  parent.  For  their 
sakes  he  was  willing  to  forego  the  attractive  but  expensive  pleasures 
which  a  city  residence  continually  presented  him,  and  cheerfully 
practised  every  self-denial,  that  he  might  bring  them  forward  to  re- 
spectability and  happiness.  His  first  voyage  to  Europe  was  made  in 
1827,  for  the  purchase  of  goods,  the  firm  having  for  some  time  pre- 
vious imported  their  own  supplies.  During  the  next  ten  years  he 
crossed  the  Atlantic  several  times,  and  was  entrusted  with  important 
financial  negotiations  for  the  government  of  his  adopted  State, 
(Maryland.) 

He  embarked  again  for  England,  February  1,  1837,  and  has  not 
since  been  in  his  native  country.  In  July,  1843,  he  retired  from  the 
firm  of  "  Peabody,  Riggs  &  Co.,  New-York  and  Baltimore,"  and  estab- 
lished himself  in  London,  where  he  has  since  continued  in  a  very 
extensive  commercial  and  banking  business.  It  has  been  asked, 
"  what  is  the  secret  of  his  success  ?"  We  answer,  in  the  language  of 
one  most  conversant  with  his  business  life,  "  he  has  entered  into  no 
giant  speculations,  nor  in  general  has  his  gain  been  disproportionate  ; 
but  he  has  realized  large  profits  from  his  legitimate  and  extensive 
commercial  pursuits,  and  from  investments  in  various  stocks  in  the 
United   States,  when  generally  discredited  by  the  public  ;  his  entire 


GEORGE  PEABODY,  OF  LONDON.  141 

confidence  in  the  integrity  of  the  defaulting  States,  and  in  the  ultimate 
payment  of  their  debts,  never  deserted  him  in  the  glooiniest  period  of 
their  history."  Having  decided  on  a  certain  course,  he  has  always 
been  remarkable  for  the  power,  bending  all  his  energies  of  mind  and 
of  body  to  the  one  object  of  pursuit.  It  was  thus  when,  at  the  age  of 
sixteen,  he  entered  on  his  chosen  profession.  He  then  laid  down  for 
himself  certain  rules,  involving  the  principles  of  justicvO,  integrity, 
good  faith,  and  punctuality,  which  he  considered  not  only  as  morally 
binding  on  himself,  but  as  due  to  his  fellow-men,  and  indispensable  to 
his  reputation  as  an  honorable  merchant.  A  strict  and  unwavering 
adherence  to  these  principles  in  every  extremity,  and  the  blessing  of 
Providence  on  a  course  of  patient,  severe,  unremitting  and  persevering 
industry,  with  habits  of  economy  as  regards  himself,  and  a  judicious 
liberality  towards  those  who  have  needed  his  assistance,  constitute, 
we  believe,  the  great  secret  by  which  he  has  attained  to  the  pecuniary 
and  social  position  which  he  now  occupies.  His  habits  of  punctuality 
have  been  proverbial.  He  recently  stated,  to  an  intimate  friend,  that 
in  all  his  business  life  he  never  failed  to  meet  a  pecuniary  engage- 
ment. Far  seeing  into  matters  relating  to  his  peculiar  calling,  of  long 
experience,  and  acute  observation,  he  has  been  able  to  judge  correctly 
of  causes  and  results,  and  generally  to  foresee  alarming  crises  in  season 
to  prepare  for  them.  In  August,  1836,  in  conversation  with  the  friend 
above  alluded  to,  he  remarked,  "  I  am  confident  that  the  rage  for  spe- 
culation which  has  characterized  the  last  two  or  three  years,  must 
produce  disastrous  results.  Accordingly,  I  have  written  to  my  partners 
to  keep  every  thing  snug,  and  without  reference  to  new  sales  or  new 
profits,  to  get  in  outstanding  debts  and  be  prepared  for  the  emergency." 
How  far  his  predictions  were  well  founded  the  dreadful  panic  of  1837 
soon  proved.  The  consequence  of  this  caution  was,  that  he  passed 
through  that  fiery  ordeal  unscathed,  and  had  the  satisfaction  to  aid 
many  others  to  do  the  same.  His  exertions,  however,  have  not  always 
been  crowned  with  equal  success.  In  common  with  other  comirercial 
houses,  he  has  sustained  severe  losses,  some  of  them  doubly  aggravating, 
being  the  result  of  treachery  or  ingratitude  in  those  in  whom  he  had  con- 
fided, all  whom  he  had  particularly  obliged.  "  From  these  losses."  says 
one,  "  although  greatly  sensitive  to  the  first  shock,  he  has  arisen  with  an 
unprecedented  elasticity  of  resolution,  and  has  redoubled  his  efforts  until 
every  deficiency  has  been  made  up.  In  the  failure  of  American  credit, 
he  was  deeply  interested  personally,  and  with  other  Americans  abroad 
shared  the  mortification  which  was  felt  on  account  of  that  disastrous 
event.  His  position  as  an  American  and  a  merchant  in  the  metropolis 
of  Great  Britain,  was,  at  this  period,  a  most  trying  one  ;  but  in  the  dark- 
est hour  of  his  country's  adversity,  he  stood  up  manfully  for  her  defence. 
His  letters  on  "  Repudiation,"  and  his  eflx)rts  to  sustain  or  to  restore 
American  credit  abroad,  constitute  the  brightest  page  in  his  history. 
For  these  efforts  he  is  justly  entitled  to  the  deepest  gratitude  of  his 
countrymen,  especially  those  of  his  adopted  State.  Maryland  has 
acknowledged  her  obligations  to  him  in  a  public  and  graceful  manner, 
as  honorable  to  herself  as  it  must  be  grateful  to  the  feelings  of  him 
who  felt  so  keenly  for  her  pecuniary  credit,  and  did  so  much  to  pro- 
tect it. 


142  SKETCHES  OF  EMINENT  AMERICANS. 

The  acknowledgments  of  Maryland  above  alluded  to,  are  contained 
in  the  two  following  letters  and  resolutions  of  her  Senate  and  House 
of  Delegates.     They  were  published  in  the  daily  papers  of  Baltimore. 

Resolutions  of  the  Legislature  of  Maryland.  By  the  House  of  De- 
legates, March  7th,  1848. 

Whereas,  Mr.  George  Peabody,  a  citizen  of  Maryland,  now  resident 
of  London,  was  appointed  one  of  three  commissioners,  under  the  act 
of  Assembly  of  eighteen  hundred  and  thirty  five,  to  negotiate  a  loan 
for  this  State,  and  after  performing  the  duties  assigned  to  him,  refused 
to  apply  for  the  compensation  allowed  by  the  provisions  of  that  act,  be- 
cause he  was  imwilling  to  add  to  the  burthens  of  the  State,  at  a  time 
when  she  was  overwhelmed  with  the  weight  of  her  obligations  ;  and 
whereas,  since  the  credit  of  the  State  has  been  restored,  he  has  volun- 
tarily relinquished  all  claim  for  the  compensation  due  to  him  for  his 
services,  expressing  himself  fully  paid  by  the  gratification  of  seeing 
the  State  free  from  reproach  in  the  eyes  of  the  world  : 

Be  it  unanimously  resolved  by  the  General  Assembly  of  Maryland, 
that  the  record  of  such  disinterested  zeal  is  higher  praise  than  any 
that  eloquence  could  bestow,  and  that  this  legislature  is  therefore  con- 
tent with  tendering  the  thanks  of  this  State  to  Mr.  Peabody,  for  his 
generous  devotion  to  the  interests  and  honor  of  Maryland. 

And  further  resolved,  that  the  Governor  of  this  State  be  requested 
to  transmit  these  resolutions  to  Mr.  Peabody,  in  such  a  manner  as  he 
may  deem  most  appropriate. 

By  order, 

George  G.  Brewer,  Clerk. 

By  the  Senate, 

March  8th,  1848. 

Read  and  assented  to, 
By  order, 

Joseph   H.  Nicholson,  Clerk. 
True  Copy — Test, 

Richard  W.  Gill,  Clerk  Court  of  Appeals. 

letter   from  governor   THOMAS   TO  MR.   PEABODY. 

.  State  Department,  Annapolis,  Md. 
October  20,  1848. 
Sir, — I  have  the  honor  herewith  to  transmit  the  enclosed  preamble 
and  resolutions,  passed  unanimously  by  the  General  Assembly  at  its 
last  session,  tendering  the  thanks  of  the  State  for  the  generous  and 
patriotic  interest  manifested  by  you  in  the  restoration  of  the  public 
credit,  at  a  time  when  Maryland,  in  common  with  many  of  the  other 
States  of  the  Union,  yielding  to  the  weight  of  her  financial  embarrass- 
ments, was  compelled  temporarily  to  suspend  payment  on  both  her 
foreign  and  domestic  debt;  and  more  especially,  for  your  disinterest- 
edness in  relinquishing  all  claims  to  compensation  for  services  render- 
ed, and  to  which,  upon  every   principle  of  law  and  justice,  you  were 


GEORGE  PEABODY,  OF  LONDON.  143 

fairly  entitled.  Instances  of  such  devotion  on  the  part  of  a  citizen  to 
the  public  welfare,  are  of  rare  occurrence,  and  merit  the  highest  dis- 
tinctions which  a  commonwealth  can  bestow.  To  one  whose  actions 
are  the  result  of  impulses  so  noble  and  self-sacrificing,  next  to  the  ap- 
proval of  his  own  conscience,  no  homage  can  be  more  acceptable  than 
the  meed  of  a  people's  gratitude,  no  recompense  so  grateful  as  the  as- 
surance of  a  complete  realization  of  those  objects  and  ends,  whose 
attainment  has  been  regarded  of  higher  value  than  were  personal  con- 
venience or  pecuniary  consideration. 

"  The  legislature,  in  the  passage  of  these  resolutions,  has  not  miscon- 
ceived the  sentiments  of  its  constituents.  The  people  of  Maryland 
are  proverbially  magnanimous  and  patriotic,  and  sensitively  alive  to 
whatever  concerns  their  public  or  private  honor,  and  profoundly  grate- 
ful to  all  by  whom  one  or  the  other  has  been  vindicated  or  sustained. 
Exempt  as  they  had  always  been,  except  for  a  single  year  and  for  a 
limited  amount,  from  direct  contributions  to  the  treasury,  and  unex- 
pectedly overwhelmed  with  an  enormous  debt,  it  is  not  wonderful  that 
delays  and  difficulties  should  have  been  encountered,  both  in  maturing 
and  enforcing  the  necessarily  complex  details  of  any  system  of  taxa- 
tion at  all  adequate  to  meet  the  annually  accruing  interest,  and  ulti- 
mately to  extinguish  the  principal  of  her  public  obligations.  The 
work  of  restoring  the  credit  of  Maryland,  beset  as  it  was  with  em- 
barrassments, and  unaided  by  the  light  of  experience,  was  nevertheless 
undertaken  with  a  zeal  commensurate  with  the  importance  of  main- 
taining unsullied  the  plighted  faith  of  the  State,  and  with  a  decision 
and  energy  calculated  to  insure  success.  By  the  act  of  December 
session,  1846,  chap.  238,  the  treasurer  was  directed  to  resume  pay- 
ment of  the  current  interest  on  the  public  debt,  on  the  first  day  of 
January,  eighteen  hundred  and  forty-eight.  By  the  same  law  the 
commissioner  of  loans  was  authorised,  at  any  time  after  the  first  day  of 
October,  1847,  upon  the  delivery  to  him  of  the  coupons  and  certificates 
of  interest  due  and  unpaid  upon  the  public  debt,  to  issue  to  the  holder 
or  holders  thereof  the  bond  or  bonds  of  the  State,  for  the  amount  of 
such  coupons  or  certificates,  redeemable  at  the  pleasure  of  the  State, 
bearing  an  interest  at  the  rate  of  six  per  cent,  per  annum,  from  the 
first  day  of  October,  eighteen  hundred  and  forty-seven,  and  payable 
annually  at  the  loan-office  in  Maryland.  The  effect  of  this  latter  pro- 
vision of  law  was,  to  convert  into  principal  the  entire  amount  of  the 
interest  on  the  main  debt  of  the  State  which  remained  unpaid,  and 
thereby  add  to  the  burdens  of  the  people  an  additional  annual  charge 
for  interest,  at  the  rate  of  six  per  centum  per  annum,  upon  a  sum  not 
far  short  of  a  million  of  dollars.  The  first  day  of  the  present  month 
was  the  period  at  which,  under  the  operation  of  the  law,  payment  of 
the  interest  upon  the  new-funded  debt  was  to  commence.  On  the 
same  day  a  quarter's  interest  on  the  main  debt,  payable  at  the  loan- 
office,  and  also  the  semi-annual  interest,  payable  in  London  on  the 
first  day  of  January  next,  were  likewise  falling  due .  That  day,  of 
course,  formed  a  crisis  in  the  financial  affairs  of  Maryland,  and  pre- 
sented a  fair  test  of  the  ability  of  the  treasury  to  discharge  in  full  all 
the  engagements  of  the  State. 

•'  I  have  purposely  delayed  the  communication  of  the  inclosed  reso- 


144  SKETCHES  OF  EMINENT  AMERICAN*. 

lutions,  until  the  period  above  referred  to  had  passed,  by  ;  believing 
that  I  could  render  you  no  more  acceptable  service  than  by  accompany- 
ing their  transmission  with  the  intelligence  of  the  entire  success  with 
which  the  efforts  to  restore  the  credit  of  the  State  have  been  crowned. 
It  is  mv  privilege  to  inform  you  that  the  liabilities  of  the  State  payable 
on  the  first  of  October  have  been  promptly  met,  without  the  slightest 
inconvenience  to  the  treasury ;  and  that,  after  payment  of  the  quarter's 
interest  then  due,  of  the  sterling  interest  due  on  the  first  of  next  Ja- 
nuary, and  the  interest  on  the  funded  arrears,  there  remained  a  surplus, 
which  is  every  day  increasing,  much  more  than  sufficient  to  cover  the 
balance  of  the  January  instalment,  payable  at  the  loan-office  in 
Baltimore. 

"  The  credit  of  Maryland  is  thus  fully  restored,  her  public  honor  re- 
deemed, every  suspicion  of  bad  faith  removed,  and  no  reasonable 
doubt  remains  as  to  her  ability  to  maintain  the  proud  and  elevated  po- 
sition she  now  occupies.  To  you,  sir,  who  have  had  no  inconsider- 
able agency  in  the  accomplishment  of  this  gratuitous  result,  the  thanks 
of  the  State  were  eminently  due.  The  action  of  the  General  Assem- 
bly reflects  faithfully  the  feelings  of  gratitude  which  your  generous 
devotion  to  the  interests  of  the  State  has  awakened  in  the  bosom  of 
every  good  citizen  of  Maryland  ;  and  while  I  am  happy  in  having 
been  made  the  organ  of  communicating  this  well-merited  tribute  to 
your  public  and  private  virtue,  I  avail  myself  of  the  opportunity  which 
the  occasion  affords,  to  assure  you  that  the  sentiments  embodied  in 
these  resolutions  have  commanded  my  most  hearty  and  cordial  concur- 
rence. 

"  I  have  the  honor  to  be,  with  great  respect, 
"  Your  obedient  servant, 

"  Philip  F.  Thomas. 

"  George  Peabody,  Esq.,  London." 

LETTER  FROM  MR.  SPEED  TO  GEORGE  PEABODY,  ESQ. 

"  Baltimore,  November  13,  1848. 
«*  My  Dear  Sir, — The  Governor  of  Maryland,  referring,  I  presume, 
to  my  late  correspondence  with  you  on  several  public  topics,  has  cho- 
sen to  make  me  the  instrument  of  transmitting  to  you  the  resolutions 
of  the  legislature  passed  at  its  late  session,  tendering  you  the  thanks 
of  the  government  for  your  effective  zeal  and  prominent  agency  in 
upholding  the  honor  of  th'^  state  in  its  late  afflictions,  in  a  foreign  land, 
and  in  presenting  its  integrity  in  true  lights  to  foreign  minds.  When 
you  reflect  that  these  resolutions  convey  the  thanks  of  a  sovereign 
State — one  of  those  that  laid  the  foundation  of  this  Republic — for  ser- 
vices rendered  her  reputation  abroad,  you  will  not  fail  to  prize  the 
distinction,  but  will,  I  know,  regard  it  with  the  emotion  it  is  so  well 
calculated  to  awaken.  In  social  life  we  are  often  assured  there  is  no 
higher  impulse  than  that  which  prompts  us  to  shield  from  accusation 
the  good  name  of  an  absent  friend  ;  and  the  charities  of  our  nature  are 
never  more  beautifully  displayed,  than  when  employed  in  covering  the 
blemishes  of  those  with  whom  we  are  connected  by  kindred  ties  ;  but 
the  love  of  country  is  a  nobler  passion — the  impulses  of  patriotism  are 
nobler  emotions  ;  and  what  prouder  political  duty  can  the  citizen  dis- 


GEORGE   PEABODY,  OF  LONDON. 


145 


charge  than  that  of  upholding,  in  a  foreign  land,  the  good  name  of  his 
country,  till  truth  shall  come  to  rescue  its  impugned  reputation.  I  must 
confess  I  should  covet  it  before  the  lustre  of  arms,  the  achievements 
of  war,  or  the  triumphs  of  ambition,  or  any  of  the  more  captivating  suc- 
cesses of  genius.  And  it  is  your  felicity,  sir,  to  be  in  the  position  I 
thus  contemplate,  and  your  happiness,  moreover,  to  be  assured  that 
your  country  fully  appreciates  your  services.  In  this  instance,  most 
certainly,  the  resolutions  of  the  legislature  fulfil  the  theory  of  repre- 
sentative assemblies — they  give  true  utterance  to  the  popular  voice, 
and  true  expression  to  the  popular  sentiments.  And  I  need  scarcely 
refer  to  the  perfect  unison  that  exists  between  the  sentiments  of  the 
legislature,  and  those  of  the  Governor,  in  regard  to  your  services.  His 
Excellency's  letter  to  you,  with  a  copy  of  which  he  has  honored  me, 
speaks  very  fully  for  itself  on  this  head.  Repudiation  is  stricken  down 
iu  Maryland,  and  will  continue  motionless.  In  other  parts  of  the  con- 
federacy, it  is  sinking  back  into  those  gloomy  abodes  of  bad  minds 
and  vulgar  breasts  where  it  was  engendered,  and  which,  as  harbors 
and  refuges  of  vice,  unhappily  for  mankind,  exist  in  all  countries. 
Their  great  monitor,  after  all,  is  a  sound  public  sense  ;  and  this  is 
awakened  in  Maryland  in  its  most  formidable  power.  I  am  happy  to 
report  to  you  that  our  revenue  laws  are  even  more  effective  and  fruit- 
ful than  we  had  hoped  for  them.  The  amomit  returned  into  the  trea- 
sury, and  the  steadiness  of  the  collections,  have  gone  beyond  the  pub- 
lic expectation.  This,  while  it  denotes  diligence  and  fidelity  in  the 
administration  of  the  laws,  proves  also  that  which  is  before  all  and 
above  all,  and  our  chiefest  pride — a  devoted  willingness  on  the  part  of 
the  tax-payer.  It  is  not  the  government  that  is  payuig  this  debt,  it  is 
the  noble-hearted  people  of  Maryland.  They,  themselves,  have  spon- 
taneously enacted  the  laws  under  which  these  great  contributions  are 
drawn  into  the  treasury ;  and  their  willingness  to  respond  to  the  tax- 
gatherer  at  their  doors,  carries  ovit  in  practice  the  enlightened  and  just 
spirit  of  their  legislation.  Permit  me  in  conclusion,  to  assure  you  ol 
the  gratification  it  has  afforded  me  to  have  been  selected  as  the  me- 
dium of  a  communication  so  creditable  to  the  legislature  and  honor- 
able to  yourself.  The  spirit  that  has  prompted  these  resolutions  is 
worthy  of  the  enviable  relation  iu  which  you  stand  to  us  ;  and  I  feel  a 
pride  in  believing  that  disinterested  and  generous  as  have  been  your 
efforts,  they  have  been  most  fully  met  by  the  sensibility  they  have  ex- 
cited, and  the  just  appreciation  in  which  they  are  held  by  every  citizen 
of  Maryland. 

"  I  pray  you  to  believe  me  as  always,  very  faithfully  yours, 

"J.  J.  Speed 
"  George  Peabody,  Esq.,  London." 

The  business  relations  of  Mr.  Peabody  are,  at  this  time,  very  ex- 
tensive and  complicated.  He  attends  personally  to  all  its  most  import- 
tant  transactions,  and  to  many  of  its  details.  We  have  been  informed 
that  he  devotes  on  an  average,  twelve  hours  out  of  every  twenty-four 
to  business.  With  all  these  demands  upon  his  time,  he  is  always 
ready  with  a  warm  greeting  to  his  friends  from  this  side  of  the  At- 
lantic.    While  by  the  public  and  social  assemblies  of  his  countrymen, 


146  SKETCHES   OF   EMINENT  AMERICANS. 

with  invited  British  residents  of  distinction,  he  has  done  much  to  pro- 
mote a  kindly  feehng  between  the  two  countries. 

(The  following  is  an  extract  from  the  Boston  Post,  of  September  19, 
1851.) 

"  It  seems  that  two  towns  of  Massachusetts  contend  for  the  honor 
of  the  nativity  of  George  Peabody,  the  eminent  London  merchant." 
(As  was  before  stated,  Danvers  was  the  birthplace  of  Mr.  Peabody.) 
*'  They  may  well  do  it ;  Danvers,  with  its  old  historic  memories — Salem, 
with  its  long  line  of  distinguished  men  in  the  professions  and  in  trade — 
even  Essex  county  itself,  full  of  the  kernel  of  peVsonal  merits  and  re- 
nown in  her  citizens  for  two  hundred  years — have  occasion  to  boast  no 
accidental  honor  that  is  greater  than  that  of  having  produced  a  man 
whose  real  goodness  and  greatness  of  heart  are  surpassed  only  by  the 
modesty  of  his  manners  and  the  instructive  quiet  of  his  private  life. 
It  is  rare  in  our  own  country  that,  without  advantages  of  birth,  or  inhe- 
ritance, or  education,  or  public  place,  a  simple-minded,  unobtrusive, 
straightforward  man,  becomes,  by  the  few  means  commercial  life  gives, 
pre-eminent  among  his  peers  ;  and  it  is  rarer  still,  that  in  another  coun- 
try, and  that  country  famous  for  individual  wealth,  a  man  like  this, 
among  the  merchant  princes  of  that  country's  metro|  olis,  should  rise 
to  distinction.  When  such  a  case  does  occur,  there  is  no  rea- 
son Avhy  it  should  be  concealed.  That  man's  character  which  is  ele- 
vated by  means  of  pure  personal  merit,  becomes,  by  the  strongest  title, 
the  property  of  the  rising  generation  of  his  country  for  their  model  and 
example." 

And  such  a  man  is  Mr.  George  Peabody.  Mr.  Peabody  has  been 
a  resident  of  London  for  many  years.  His  business  would  be  called 
that  of  banking  in  the  United  States  ;  but  in  Great  Britain,  where  trade 
divides  into  more  minute  ramifications,  and  every  branch  of  it  classi- 
fied, he  is  called  a  merchant,  as  are  Baring  Brothers  &  Co.,  the  Roths- 
childs, and  other  distinguished  houses.  The  difference  is  simply,  that 
while  these  firms  loan  money,  buy  stocks,  change  drafts,  hold  deposits, 
<^c.,  they  do  not  themselves  pay  out  money  like  the  houses  of  Coates 
and  others,  who  are  strictly  bankers. 

You  may  always  find  him  at  his  business  during  the  hours  devoted 
to  it  in  London.  He  knows  no  such  thing  as  relaxation  from  it.  At 
half-past  ten  o'clock  every  morning,  you  may  notice  him  coming  out 
from  the  Club  Chambers,  where  he  keeps  bachelor's  hall,  taking  a 
seat  in  the  passing  omnibus,  and  riding  some  three  miles  to  his  office 
in  Warnford  Court,  a  dingy  alley  in  Throgmorton-street ;  and  in  that 
office,  or  near  by,  day  after  day,  year  in  and  out,  you  may  be  sure  to 
find  him,  always  cheerful,  always  busy,  following  the  apostolic  direc- 
tion to  the  very  letter,  "  Study  to  be  quiet  and  do  your  own  business." 
In  personal  appearance,  Mr.  Peabody  looks  more  a  professional  than 
a  business  man.  He  is  some  six  feet  tall,  erect,  with  a  florid  com- 
plexion, and  a  fine  bold  forehead.  He  may  be  past  fifty  years  of  age, 
though  his  appearance  does  not  indicate  it.  He  is  ready,  intelligent 
in  no  ordinary  degree,  copious  in  the  power  of  expressing  his  views, 
and  truly  sincere  in  every  thing  which  he  does  and  says.  In  com- 
mercial phrase,  he  is  pre-eminently  a  reliable  man,  showing  neither  to 
friends  nor  enemies,  under  any  circumstances,  any  phase  of  character, 


GEORGE   PEABODV,  OF  LONDON.  147 

which  will  not  be  found  stable  in  every  event.  To  his  country,  to  her 
interests,  her  reputation,  her  honor  and  credit,  it  has  been  his  pride 
ever  to  be  true.  A  more  thorough  American  in  heart,  and  soul,  and 
sympathy,  does  not  exist.  If  he  is  known  by  any  one  characteristic 
above  all  others,  it  is  this.  While  others,  flattered  into  lukewarm- 
ness  towards  our  free  institutions,  by  the  attention  of  the  aristocracy 
of  the  mother  country,  or  in  the  desire  to  gain  the  applause  of  the 
great,  has  acquiesced  in  those  disparaging  opinions,  which  are  com- 
mon towards  the  United  States  among  the  advocates  of  monarchy, 
Mr.  Peabody  has  always  stood  firm.  In  the  peril  of  credit  to  State 
bonds,  his  opinion  frankly  expressed  upon  change,  and  as  freely  acted 
upon  in  his  counting-room,  was  better  than  bullion  in  the  treasury. 
In  negotiation  of  State  loans,  when  American  securities  were  blown 
upon  in  the  market,  his  aid  became  an  endorsement,  indubitable  in  its 
security,  to  the  buyer.  In  the  advancement  of  American  interest,  his 
energy  never  flags.  When  the  products  of  American  industry,  unpro- 
vided for  by  any  Congressional  appropriation,  were  jeopardized  for  lack 
of  funds  to  carry  out  the  purposes  of  the  contributors,  he  was  the  one 
to  step  forward  and  advance  the  necessary  loan.  Perhaps  in  no  former 
instance  has  Mr.  Peabody's  love  of  country  been  exhibited  in  stronger 
relief.  Every  other  nation  had  made  provision  for  the  expenses  of  its 
contributors.  While  the  first  opinion  of  the  English  public  placed  the 
productions  of  the  United  States  beneath  all  others,  he  had  the  foresight 
to  perceive  that  time  only  was  needed  to  do  us  justice.  He  furnished 
the  money,  counselled  courage,  urged  energy,  conciliated  difficulties, 
and  gave  his  whole  influence  towards  what  he  assured  his  countrymen 
would  be  the  result.  The  event  has  proved  that  he  was  not  mistaken  ; 
and  to  him,  more  than  to  any  other  man  out  of  the  Crystal  Palace,  is 
it  due  that  the  honor  of  receiving  the  great  medal  of  the  Exhibition, 
not  for  mere  handicraft,  but  for  the  only  introduction  of  a  new  principle 
into  the  useful  arts,  has  fallen  upon  the  United  States.  Few  men  in 
London,  whose  attention  has  been  devoted  exclusively  to  commercial 
pursuits,  have  ever  enjoyed  a  higher  reputation  than  Mr  Peabody.  No 
other  man  could  have  assembled  on  the  Fourth  of  July  the  aristocracy 
of  Great  Britain  to  commemorate  with  Americans  the  birthday  of 
republican  institutions.  Honor  to  him  who  loves  to  honor  his  country  ! 
It  is  his  intention,  ere  long,  to  return  to  the  United  States,  and  spend 
the  rest  of  his  life.  When  he  does  so,  while  he  will  leave  behind 
him  an  unsullied  reputation  better  than  gold,  he  will  find  in  his  own 
country  a  welcome  which  no  common  desert  would  gain." 

The  following  extracts,  from  an  account  published  in  London,  of  the 
proceedings  of  the  parting  dinners  given  by  Mr.  Peabody,  will  be  found 
interesting  to  his  townsmen. 

"  On  the  29th  of  October,  1851,  Mr.  George  Peabody,  of  London, 
gave  a  parting  dinner  at  the  London  Cofl^ee  House,  to  the  American 
gentlemen  connected  with  the  exhibition.  The  guests  consisted  of  the 
Americans  known  to  be  in  London,  and  also  of  many  English  gentle- 
men. The  Hall  was  appropriately  and  beautifully  decorated  under 
the  direction  of  Mr.  Stevens  and  Mr.  Somerby.  Behind  the  chair  was 
placed  Huyter's  full  length  portrait  of  her  Majesty,  on   one  side  of 


14S  SKETCHES  OF  EMINENT  AMERICANS. 

which  was  Stuart's  Washington,  and  on  the  other  Patten's  portrait  of 
his  Royal  Highness  Prince  Albert,  each  the  size  of  life.  The  na- 
tional ensigns  of  Great  Britain  and  the  United  States,  appropriately 
united  by  a  wreath  of  laurel,  were  draped  about  these  paintings,  and 
pennants  were  kindly  furnished  by  the  admiralty  for  the  occasion, 
completed  the  effect.  The  chair  was  taken  by  Mr.  Peabody,  at  sev  n 
o'clock.  Mr.  Davis  officiated  as  first  vice-chairman,  and  the  side 
tables  were  presided  over  by  Mr.  Stephens  and  Colonel  Lawrence,  re- 
spectively, as  second  and  third  vice-chairmen.  The  elegant  and 
sumptuous  dinner  fully  sustained  the  credit  of  Mr.  Lovegrove's  house. 
After  the  cloth  was  removed,  and  grace  said,  Mr.  Harker,  the  toast- 
master,  announced  the  Loving  Cup  in  the  following  words  :  "  The 
Right  Hon.  Earl  of  Granville,  his  Excellency  the  American  Minister, 
His  Excellency  Sir  Henry  Lytton  Bulwer,  the  Hon.  Robert  Walker, 
the  Governor  of  the  Bank  of  England,  Sir  Joseph  Paxton,  Sir  Charles 
Fox,  and  gentlemen  all,  Mr.  Peabody  drinks  to  you  in  a  loving  cup, 
and  bids  you  all  a  hearty  welcome.*  The  loving  cup  was  then  passed 
round  in  the  usual  manner,  and  due  honor  done  to  this  ancient  custom. 

"  The  dessert  having  been  served,  Mr.  Peabody  rose  and  announced, 
successively,  the  three  following  toasts,  each  being  prefaced  by  a  neat 
and  appropriate  speech  : — 

"  The  Queen — God  bless  her. 

"  The  President  of  the  United  States — God  bless  him. 

"  The  health  of  his  Royal  Highness  Prince  Albert,Albert  Prince  of 
Wales,  and  the  rest  of  the  Royal  Family. 

"  These  toasts  were  received  with  the  greatest  enthusiasm,  and  with 
the  accompanying  honors,  the  band  playing  "  God  Save  the  Queen," 
and  "  Hail  Columbia."  Appropriate  and  excellent  speeches  were 
made,  by  Mr.  Corbin,  of  Virginia,  Mr.  Abbott  Lawrence,  Earl  Granville, 
Mr.  Robert  J.  Walker,  Sir  Henry  Lytton  Bulwer,  Mr.  Davis,  Mr. 
Riddle,  and  Mr.  Stansbury. 

"  Mr.  Bates,  of  the  house  of  Baring  &  Brothers,  then  toasted, — 

"  Mr.  Thomas  Hankey,  jun.,  the  Governor  of  the  Bank  of  England. 

"  The  Governor,  on  rising  to  reply,  was  loudly  cheered.  He  con- 
cluded his  speech  as  follows  : — '  Allusion  has  been  made  to  rival 
feelings,  and  may  I  not  give  a  strong  proof  that  none  such  exist  in 
this  city,  excepting  in  that  generous  rivalry  which  is  the  truest  stimulus 
to  exertion,  when  I  remind  you  that  the  gentleman  who  has  done  me  the 
honor  to  propose  my  health,  and  who  I  am  sure  will  allow  me  to  call  him 
my  friend,  is  an  American,  though  standing  at  the  head  of  one  of  the 
largest  and  most  widely-known  English  firms.  The  house  of  Barings 
is  known  not  only  in  Europe  and  America,  but  in  every  part  of  the 
globe  ;  and  Mr.  Bates,  the  present  acting  head  of  that  well-known  and 
respected  house,  is,  as  I  have  before  observed,  an  American.  He  al- 
luded to  my  connection  with  America,  a  connection  which  I  ever  re- 

*  The  loving  cup  which  went  round  the  tables,  was  one  which  Mr.  Peabody  had 
just  received  from  a  friend  in  America.  It  is  made  of  oak,  from  the  homestead  of 
Mr.  Pcabody's  ancestors,  at  Danvers,  near  Salem,  Massachusetts.  It  is  richly  in- 
laid with  silver,  and  bears  the  family  arms  and  following  inscription.  "  Francis 
Peabody,  of  Salem,  to  George  Peabody,  of  London." 


GEORGE  PEABODY,  OF  LO\DO>f.  149 

gard  with  feelings  of  the  greatest  satisfaction,  for  T  have  been  thereby 
frequently  thrown  into  communication  with  Americans,  and  I  have 
never  received  from  them  an}'thing  but  friendship  and  kindness.  I  have 
twice  visited  and  travelled  in  the  United  States.  On  the  last  occasion, 
in  1834,  I  met  a  gentleman  on  board  the  sailing-packet,  with  whom  I 
made  acquaintance,  and  whose  acquaintance  I  have  kept  to  this  day. 
That  gentleman  was  Mr.  Peabody,  who  has  been  kind  enough  to  invite 
me  to  witness  his  reception  of  his  countrymen  in  this  truly  hospitable 
manner.  I  am  proud  to  consider  him  as  a  colleague  and  brother 
merchant  of  London  ;  and  I  am  not  the  less  proud  of  it  when  I  hear, 
from  the  lips  of  so  many  of  his  own  countrymen  as  I  have  done  on 
this  day,  that  they  consider  his  high  and  unimpeachable  character,-  his 
abilities,  his  integrity,  and  his  industry,  as  great  an  ornament  to  their 
country  as  we  are  glad  to  consider  him  to  ours.  Long  may  he  enjoy 
the  fruits  of  his  well-earned  independence  ;  and  long  may  he  continue 
equally  respected  on  both  sides  of  the  Atlantic' 

"  The  Governor  sat  down  amid  prolonged  cheering. 

"  Lord  Granville  then  rose  again,  and  stated,  that  he  had  obtained 
permission  to  say  a  few  words  more,  and  that  he  should  make  the 
opportunity  available  for  proposing  a  toast,  the  propriety  of  which  all 
would  recognise,  and  which  he  was  sure  would  be  welcomed  with 
unequalled  enthusiasm.  His  lordship  concluded  a  very  truthful  and 
graceful  tribute  to  Mr.  Peabody,  by  alluding  to  the  prominent  and  dis- 
tinguished part  which  that  gentleman  had  taken  in  advancing  the 
interests  of  the  Exhibition,  and  at  the  still  more  prominent  position 
which  he  had  achieved  for  himself  by  his  unwearied  efforts  to  promote 
the  happiness  of  Americans  in  this  country,  and  to  foster  a  kind  and 
brotherly  feeling  between  Englishmen  and  Americans.  His  lordship  also 
alluded  particularly  to  the  regret  which  he  had  experienced  at  having 
been  unable  to  attend  the  superb  fete  given  by  Mr.  Peabody  on  the 
last  anniversary  of  American  Independence  ;  and  characterised  that 
fete  as  marking  an  auspicious  epoch  in  the  history  of  international 
feeling  as  between  England  and  America.  In  conclusion,  he  proposed 
—the  health  of  Mr.  Peabody." 

After  the  prolonged  and  reiterated  cheering  with  which  this  senti- 
ment was  received  had  subsided,  Mr.  Peabody  rose  and  said  : 

"  My  Lords  and  Gentlemen — I  may  most  sincerely  assure  you,  that 
any  feeling  at  the  present  moment  is  one  of  profound  humility.  Gra- 
tifying as  is  this  spontaneous  expression  of  your  approbation  and  re- 
gard, and  grateful  as  I  am  to  the  noble  lord  and  to  you  all  for  your 
undeserved  kindness,  I  feel  sensible  of  my  entire  inability  to  convey 
to  you  in  suitable  language,  the  acknowledgments  which  I  would  wish 
to  make  ;  and  I  feel  this  humility  and  my  inability  the  more  strongly, 
after  listening  to  the  eloquent  speeches  which  have  been  made  this 
evening.  Gentlemen,  I  have  lived  a  great  many  years  in  this  country 
without  weakening  my  attachment  to  my  own  land,  but  at  the  same 
time  too  long  not  to  honor  the  institutions  and  people  of  Great  Britain. 
It  has  therefore  been  my  constant  desire,  while  showing  such  atten- 
tions as  were  in  my  power  to  my  own  countrymen,  to  promote  to  the 
very  utmost  kind  and  brotherly  feelings   between    Englishmen  and 


150  SKETCHES  OF  EMINENT  AMERICANS. 

Americans  (cheers).  The  origin  of  this  meeting  was,  my  desire  to 
pay  respect  to'those  of  my  countrymen  who  had  been  connected  with 
the  Great  Exhibition  of  1851,  and  to  pay  a  parting  tribute  to  their 
skill,  ingenuity  and  originality,  before  their  departure  to  the  United 
States.  And  I  cannot  but  feel  that  I  have  been  extremely  fortunate 
in  bringing  together  so  large  a  number  of  our  countrymen  on  the  occa- 
sion. You  will  understand  also,  that  I  feel  extreme  gratification  at 
the  presence  of  our  kind-hearted  minister,  and  of  those  English  gen- 
tlemen whose  social  and  official  rank,  no  less  than  their  connection 
either  with  our  country,  or  with  the  Exhibition,  renders  them  fitting 
representatives  of  national  feeling,  and  entitle  them  to  our  respect, 
and  to  my  most  grateful  acknowledgments  (hear).  The  importance 
of  maintaining  kindly  feelings  between  the  people  of  our  respectiA^e 
countries,  has  been  the  principal  theme  of  the  eloquent  speeches 
which  we  have  heard  this  evening,  and  particularly  that  of  Sir  Henry 
Lytton  Bulwer  ;  but  although  in  some  measure  a  repetition  of  what  has 
been  so  much  better  said  by  him,  I  cannot  forbear  making  a  few  re- 
marks on  the  same  subject.  There  has  recently  been  much  excite- 
ment in  America  in  reference  to  the  maintenance  of  the  union  of  the 
States,  an  excitement  that  has  placed  the  imion  on  a  firmer  basis  than 
ever.  I  have  felt  that,  important  to  us  as  is  that  bond  of  union,  there 
is  another  which  is  no  less  important  to  the  whole  civilized  world  ;  I 
refer  to  the  moral  and  friendly  union  between  Great  Britain  and  the 
United  States  (loud  cheers).  May  both  these  unions  still  continue  and 
gather  strength  with  their  gathering  years.  Gentlemen,  many  of 
you  whom  I  see  here  to-night  will  soon  be  on  the  ocean,  homeward 
bound,  and  there  are  many  whom  I  may  not  have  the  pleasure  of  meet- 
ing before  their  departure  ;  but  if  I  do  not  meet  you  all  again  on  this 
side  of  the  Atlantic,  I  trust  that  1  will  at  some  future  day  on  the  other 
side.  After  such  gratifying  proofs  of  your  friendly  feelings  towards 
me,  I  am  persuaded  that  your  kindness  will  induce  you  to  give  me, 
in  your  native  land,  a  warmer  but  not  more  sincere  welcome  than  it 
has  been  in  my  power  to  give  you  here.  I  conclude  by  again  offering 
you  my  warmest  thanks." 

This  speech  was  received  with  inexpressible  cordiality,  and  at 
its  close  the  company  rose  and  greeted  Mr.  Peabody  with  "  three 
times  three"  cheers,  and  "  one  more,"  with  a  heartiness  not  to  be  sur- 
passed. 

The  superb  fete  referred  to  in  the  speech  of  Lord  Granville  is  in 
the  London  Illustrated  News,  which  has  a  fine  engraving  of  the  hall 
at  Almack's,  where  the  entertainment  took  place,  with  the  decora- 
tions, &c. 

"  GRAND  ENTERTAINMENT  TO  THE  AMERICAN  MINISTER. 

"  A  superb  entertainment  was  given  by  Mr.  George  Peabody,  the  emi- 
nent American  merchant,  to  many  hundreds  of  his  countrymen,  and 
our  own,  at  Willis'.s  Rooms,  to  meet  the  American  Minister  and  Mrs. 
Lawrence,  on  Friday,  July  4th,  1851,  the  anniversary  of  American 
Independence.  Mr.  Peabody  selected  this  anniversary  for  this  im* 
mense  gathering  of  Englishmen  and  Americans,  for  the  avowed  pur- 


GEORGE    PEABODY,  OF  LOXDON.  151 

pose  of  showing  that  all  hostile  feeling,  in  regard  to  the  occurrences 
which  it  calls  to  mind,  has  ceased  to  have  place  in  the*breasts  of  the 
citizens  of  either  of  the  two  great  Anglo-Saxon  nations,  and  that  there 
is  no  longer  anything  to  prevent  them  meeting  together  on  that  day, 
or  on  any  other  occasion,  in  perfect  harmony  and  brotherhood.  The 
superb  suite  of  Almack's  Rooms  gave  ample  space  for  the  guests. 
The  walls  were  richly  festooned  with  white  drapery,  entwined  by 
Vvreaths  of  flowers,  interspersed  at  intervals  with  th'^  flags  of  England 
and  America  blended  and  interchanged.  At  one  end  and  the  other  of 
the  spacious  ball-room  were  placed  portraits  of  Queen  Victoria  and 
the  illustrious  Washington,  each  canopied  with  the  combined  flags  of 
the  two  countries,  and  in  various  parts  of  the  rooms  were  placed  busts 
of  her  Majesty,  the  Prince  Consort,  Washington,  Franklin,  and  other 
distinguished  persons  of  either  country. 

"  The  superb  chandeliers  were  decorated  with  flowers  to  the  number  of 
many  hundred,  and  each  lady  was  presented,  on  her  entrance  to  the 
room,  with  a  choice  bouquet.  The  guests  began  to  arrive  about  nine 
o'clock,  and  by  half-past  nine  the  streets  appropriated  for  the  auditory 
of  the  concert  with  which  the  entertainment  commenced,  were  en- 
tirely filled.  The  concert  itself  was  of  a  high  order  ;  and  when  we 
name  Catherine  Hayes,  Crevelli,  Lablache,  and  Gardoni  as  the  per- 
formers, it  is  almost  needless  to  add,  that  it  passed  off  most  brilliantly. 
After  the  concert,  the  seats  were  removed,  and  the  spacious  ball-room 
was  cleared  for  the  dancers,  who  commenced  dancing  at  about  eleven 
o'clock.  Up  to  this  hour,  the  guests  had  continued  to  arrive.  At  about 
half-past  eleven  the  Duke  of  Wellington  arrived,  and  was  met  in  the 
reception-room  by  Mr.  Peabody,  who  conducted  his  grace  through  the 
ball-room  to  the  dais,  where  he  was  w^elcomed  by  the  American  minis- 
ter. The  band  played  the  accustomed  recognition  of  "  See,  the  Con- 
quering Hero  comes  ;"  but  the  enthusiasm  did  not  reach  its  height  until 
the  Duke,  with  Mr.  Peabody,  and  the  American  Minister  on  either  side 
of  him,  took  his  seat  in  the  centre  of  the  dais,  and  directly  under  the 
portrait  of  Wa.shington,  when  the  assembly  gave  a  prolonged  burst  of 
cheering.  After  this  had  subsided,  dancing  recommenced,  and  con- 
tinued until  a  very  late  hour,  interrupted  only  by  the  intervention  of  an 
elegant  supper.  The  Duke  of  Wellington  remained  until  past  mid- 
night, and  many  others  of  the  more  distinguished  visitors  remained 
until  the  breaking  up  of  the  party.  The  whole  of  the  ground  floor  of 
Willis'  rooms  was  devoted  to  the  arrangements  for  supper,  and  these 
rooms,  like  those  above,  were  decorated  with  flowers,  flags,  busts,  and 
various  other  graceful  and  artistic  objects. 

"  It  is  but  an  act  of  justice  to  mention,  that  the  perfection  of  all  the 
arrangements  is  attributable  solely  to  Mr.  Mitchel,  of  old  Bond-street. 
That  gentleman  having  received  a  carte  blanche  from  Mr.  Peabody, 
availed  himself  of  such  an  unrestricted  license,  to  furnish  an  entertain- 
ment so  complete  in  its  details  and  magnificent  in  its  ensemble,  as 
rarely  to  have  been  equalled." 

The  following  are  extracts  from  the  account  of  the  Danvers  centen- 
nial celebration,  and  the  speeches  made  upon  that  occasion. 

"  It  having  become  known  among  the  guests  that  a  communication 
had  been  received  from  George  Peabody,  Esq.,  of  London,  the  read- 


152  SKETCHES  OF  EMINENT  AMERICANS. 

ing  of  it  was  called  for.  It  was  preceded  by  the  following  sentiment, 
the  announcement  of  which,  and  the  response  it  elicited,  exciting  the 
most  intense  sensation. 

"The  sentiment  was — Our  fellow-citizen,  George  Peabody,  of  London  : 
holding  the  highest  rank  among  nature's  noblemen,  and  distinguished  in 
the  great  centre  of  the  commercial  world,  he  has  always  done  much 
for  the  credit  and  honor  of  his  country,  and  has  remembered  with  kind- 
ness and  affection  the  place  of  his  birth.  Danvers  may  well  feel  a 
just  pride  in  the  successful  career  of  such  a  son." 

"  John  W.  Proctor  then  rose,  and  holding  in  his  hand  a  sealed  packet, 
read  the  following  letter  : 

"  London,  May  26th,  1852. 

"  Gentlemen, — I  have  the  honor  to  acknowledge  the  receipt  of  your 
letter,  inviting  me  to  be  present  at  the  celebration  of  the  one  hundredth 
anniversary  of  the  separation  of  Danvers  from  Salem,  on  the  16th  of 
June,  or  if  not  able  to  attend,  to  signify  by  letter  my  interest  in  the 
occasion.  I  am  very  sorry  that  my  engagements  allow  me  to  comply 
only  with  the  latter  part  of  your  request.  I  should  have  the  greatest 
pleasure  in  joining  in  your  interesting  celebration  there,  if  possible. 
The  early  associations  of  my  life  are  clustered  around  our  ancient 
town.  It  was,  as  many  of  you  know,  in  a  very  humble  house,  in  the 
south  parish,  that  I  was  born,  and  from  the  common  schools  of  that 
parish,  such  as  they  were  in  1803  to  1807,  I  obtained  the  limited  edu- 
cation my  parents'  means  could  afford  ;  but  to  the  principles  there  in- 
culcated in  childhood  and  early  youth,  I  owe  much  of  the  foundations 
for  such  success  as  Heaven  has  been  pleased  to  grant  me  during  a 
long  business  life.  Though  my  manhood,  before  coming  to  England, 
was  spent  in  Baltimore,  which  shares  with  my  native  town  in  my 
kindest  feelings,  I  still  cherish  the  recollections  of  my  earlier  days, 
and  anticipate  with  much  pleasure  a  visit  to  the  old  parish,  that  I  may 
witness  the  great  strides  I  am  told  you  have  been  making  in  wealth 
and  improvements.  It  is  now  nearly  sixteen  years  since  I  left  my 
native  country  ;  but  I  can  say  with  truth,  that  absence  has  only  deep- 
ened my  interest  in  her  welfare. 

"  During  this  interval,  I  have  seen  great  changes  in  her  wealth,  in 
her  power,  and  in  her  position  among  nations  ;  I  have  had  the  mortifi- 
cation to  witness  the  social  standing  of  Americans  in  Europe  very 
seriously  affected,  and  to  feel  that  it  was  not  entirely  undeserved  ;  but, 
thank  Heaven,  I  have  lived  to  see  the  cause  nearly  annihilated  by  the 
energy,  industry,  and  honesty  of  my  countrymen  ;  thereby  creating 
between  the  people  of  the  two  great  nations,  speaking  the  English 
language,  and  governed  by  liberal  and  free  institutions,  a  more  kind 
and  cordial  feeling  than  has  existed  at  any  other  time.  The  great 
increase  of  population  and  commerce  of  the  United  States,  the  deve- 
lopment of  the  internal  wealth  of  the  country,  and  the  enterprise  of  her 
people,  have  done  much  to  produce  this  happy  change  ;  and  I  can 
scarcely  see  bounds  to  our  possible  failure,  if  we  preserve  harmony 
among  ourselves,  and  good  faith  to  the  rest  of  the  world  ;  and  if  we 
plant  the  unrivalled  New-England  Institution  of  the  common  school  , 
liberally  among  the  emigrants  who  are  filling  up  the  great  Valley  of 


GEORGE  PEABODY,  OF  LONDON.  153 

th6  Mississippi.     That  this  may  be  done,  is,  I  am  persuaded,  no  less 
your  wish  than  mine. 

"  I  enclose   a  sentiment,  which  I   ask  may  remain  sealed  till  this 
letter  is  read  on  the  day  of  the  celebration,  when  it  is  to  be  opened, 
according  to  the  direction  on  the  envelope. 
"  With  great  respect, 

"  I  have  the  honor  to  be 

"  Your  fellow-townsman, 

"  George  Peabody. 
"  To  Messrs.  John  Proctor,  Andrew 
Nichols  and  others." 

"  The  endorsement  on  the  envelope  was  as  follows  : 

"  The  seal  of  this  is  not  to  be  broken  till  the  toasts  are  being  pro- 
posed by  the  chairman  at  the  dinner,  16th  of  June,  at  Danvers,  in 
commemoration  of  the  one  hundredth  year  since  its  severance  from 
Salem.  It  contains  a  sentiment  for  the  occasion,  from  George  Pea- 
body,  of  London. 

"By  George  Peabody,  of  London: — Education — A  debt  due  from 
present  to  future  generations. 

"  In  acknowledgment  of  the  payment  of  that  debt,  by  the  generation 
which  preceded  me  in  my  native  town  of  Danvers,  and  to  aid  in  its 
prompt  future  discharge,  I  give  to  the  inhabitants  of  that  town  the 
sum  of  twenty  thousand  dollars*  for  the  promotion  of  knowledge  and 
morality  among  them.  I  beg  to  remark,  that  the  subject  of  making  a 
gift  to  my  native  town  has  for  some  years  occupied  my  mind  ;  and 
I  avail  myself  of  your  present  interesting  festival  to  make  the  com- 
munication, in  the  hope  that  it  will  add  to  the  pleasures  of  the  day. 
I  annex  to  the  gift  such  conditions  only  as  I  deem  necessary  for  its 
preservation,  and  the  accomplishment  of  the  purposes  before  named. 
The  conditions  are — That  the  legal  voters  of  the  town,  at  a  meeting  to 
be  held  at  a  convenient  time  after  the  16th  of  June,  shall  accept  the 
gift,  and  shall  elect  a  committee  of  not  less  than  twelve  persons,  to 
receive  a  nd  have  charge  of  the  same,  for  the  purpose  of  establishing  a 
Lyceum,  for  the  delivery  of  lectures  upon  such  subjects  as  may  be 
designated  by  a  committee  of  the  town,  free  to  all  the  mhabitants, 
under  such  rules  as  said  committee  may  from  time  to  time  enact ;  and 
that  a  library  shall  be  obtained,  which  shall  also  be  under  the  direction 
of  the  committee.  That  a  suitable  building  for  the  use  of  the  Lyceum 
shall  be  erected,  at  a  cost,  including  the  land,  fixtures,  furniture,  &c., 
not  exceeding  seven  thousand  dollars,  and  shall  be  located  within  one- 
third  of  a  mile  of  the  Presbyterian  meeting-house,  occupying  the  spot 
of  that  under  the  pastoral  care  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Walker,  in  the  South 
Parish  of  Danvers.  That  ten  thousand  dollars  of  this  gift  shall  be 
invested  by  the  town's  committee  in  undoubted  securities  as  a  perma- 
nent fund,  and  the  interest  arising  therefrom  to  be  expended  in  sup- 

♦  Mr.  Peabody  has  since  added  $10,000  to  the  gift;  making  the  amount 
1  $30,000,  to  enable  the  committee  to  erect  a  building  amply  sufficient  to  accom- 
Imodate  the  inhabitants  of  the  town. 


154  SKETCHES  OF  EMINENT  AMERICANS, 

port  of  the  Lyceum.  In  all  other  respects  I  leave  the  disposition  of 
the  Lyceum  to  the  inh;il)itants  of  Danvers,  merely  suggesting  that  it 
might  be  advisable  for  them,  by  their  own  act,  to  exclude  sectarian 
theology  and  political  discussions  for  ever  from  the  walls  of  the  insti- 
tution. I  will  make  one  request  of  the  committee,  which  is,  if  they 
see  no  objection,  and  my  venerable  friend.  Captain  Sylvester  Proctor, 
should  be  living,  that  he  be  selected  to  lay  the  corner-stone  of  the 
Lyceum  building. 

"  Respectfully,  yours, 

"George  Peabody." 

*'  After  the  announcement  of  the  donation  by  Mr.  Peabody, 
"  Mr.  Proctor  remarked,  substantially,  as  follows : — Mr.  Chairman — I 
scarcely  know  which  to  admire  most,  the  liberality  of  the  gift,  or  the 
modesty  of  the  giver.  A  princely  donation  like  this,  for  a  purpose 
like  this,  to  a  place  like  this,  is  no  ordinary  occurrence.  We  hear  of 
the  donations  of  Girard,  of  Smithson,  of  Buzzy,  and  others,  in  amounts 
larger  than  this;  but  where  is  there  one,  all  things  considered,  that 
will  begin  to  compare  with  this  ?  Look  at  the  sentiment  accompany- 
ing it.  Education — A  debt  due  from  present  to  future  generations. 
What  more  simple  ?     Still,  what  could  be  more  expressive  ? 

"  Look  also  at  the  recognition,  by  Mr.  Peabody,  of  the  village  school 
imder  the  shadow  of  the  steeple  of  the  old  church,  where  he  and  I, 
and  many  others  now  present,  were  first  taught  to  lisp  their  ABC; 
and  see  how  readily  he  admits,  '  it  was  there  he  imbibed  the  princi- 
ples which  have  been  the  foundation  of  the  success  which  heaven  has 
been  pleased  to  grant  him  during  a  long  business  life.'  Can  there  be 
a  higher  eulogy  than  this  upon  our  New-England  system  of  Free 
Schools  ?  When  a  boy  I  knew  Mr.  Peabody  well.  Our  ages  were 
such  that  we  went  to  the  same  school,  and  developed  our  physical 
energies  on  the  same  playgrounds.  From  the  first  he  was  manly  and 
honorable  as  he  has  ever  since  been.  Nothing  small  or  mean  about 
George  Peabody.  If  anything  wrong  was  done  he  was  the  last  to  be 
suspected  of  it.  I  say  this  for  the  information  of  those  of  my  young 
friends,  who  seem  to  think  there  is  something  manly  in  being  forward 
to  do  mischief,  in  being  most  active  in  overturning  outbuildings,  or 
breaking  the  windows  of  retired  gentlemen,  or  breaking  the  repose  of 
discreet  young  ladies.  They  mistake  entirely  who  indulge  any  such 
ideas.  Peabody  never  did  any  such  things.  While  I  knew  him  he 
was  a  civil,  well-behaved,  trustworthy  young  man.  And  now,  my 
young  friends,  you  see  what  he  has  ripened  into  ;  first  among  the 
foremost  of  Americans  in  London,  a  nobleman  by  nature,  of  rank 
second  to  none  other.  It  has  been  my  good  fortune  to  have  had 
repeated  communications  with  Mr.  Peabody  since  he  became  a  man. 
As  early  as  1835,  when  he  resided  at  Baltimore,  the  citizens  of  South 
Danvers  undertook  to  erect  a  monument  to  the  memory  of  those  of  our  ' 
fellow-townsmen  who  were  killed  at  Lexington  on  the  19th  of  April,  1775 
When  we  had  raised  by  subscription  700  dollars,  and  ascertained  tha 
the  structure  designed  would  cost  1,000  dollars,  I  advised  him  of  th 
facts,  and  received  from  hnn  a  prompt  reply,  saying,  that  he  "  ws 
happy  to  learn  that  his  fellow-townsmen  of  Danvers  were  about  to  & 


GEORGE  PEABODY,  OF  LONDON.  155 

what  had  been  too  long  neglected,  and  that  my  draft  on  him  at  sight, 
for  whatever  might  be  needed  to  complete  the  design,  should  be  duly 
honored. 

"  The  work  was  completed,  and  the  draft  was  paid.  Again,  when 
the  Church  of  the  South  Society,  a  new  structure,  had  occupied  the 
site  of  the  one  described  as  '  The  Presbyterian  Meeting-House,  where 
the  Rev.  Mr.  Walker  formerly  was  pastor,'  was  destroyed  by  fire,  the 
Society,  with  much  exertion,  having  just  completed  the  same,  my 
friend  on  the  right,  (Hon.  Robert  L.  Daniels,)  joined  me  in  a  note  to 
Mr.  Peabody,  stating  the  facts,  to  which  he  replied  with  an  appropri- 
ate expression  of  his  sympathies  on  the  occasion,  accompanied  by  a 
bill  of  exchange  for  jC50  sterling  for  the  use  of  the  Society. 

"  Such  has  been  my  knowledge  and  experience  of  George  Peabody 
of  London.  You  may  well  suppose  when  I  received  from  him  a  pri- 
vate note,  ^accompanying  the  envelope  that  contained  the  donation,  with 
a  request  that  it  should  not  be  opened  till  the  company  was  seated  at 
dinner,  because  it  contained  a  '  sentiment  of  intere.st  to  the  people  of 
Danvers,'  that  I  imagined  it  to  be  a  rich  sentiment.  I  did,  indeed,  so 
imagine.  But  I  frankly  admit  it  exceeds  my  highest  imagination  ; 
and  what  was  peculiarly  gratifying  to  me,  the  same  note  that  gave  me 
this  information,  also  authorized  me  to  subscribe  in  his  behalf  the  sum 
of  fifty  dollars  towards  the  erection  of  an  appproriate  monument  at  the 
grave  of  our  late  fellow-townsman,  the  venerable  General  Gideon 
Foster,  who  died  at  the  age  of  96,  with  a  character  for  industry,  honor, 
and  integrity,  rarely  equalled. 

"  Such  are  a  few  of  the  acts  of  this  model  of  a  man,  that  Danvers 
feels  proud  to  call  her  own.  May  those  who  are  still  of  Danvers  show 
themselves  to  be  worthy  of  his  bounty.  May  it  be  received  and  man- 
aged in  a  manner  most  gratifying  to  the  giver.  May  no  local  jealousies 
or  meaner  passions  be  suffered  to  enter  here.  May  those  of  Danvers 
in  fifty-two  show  themselves  to  be  worthy  their  sires  of  seventy-six." 

P.  R.  Southwick,  Esq.,  here  rose  and  spoke  as  follows: — "Mr. 
President,  I  rise  to  pass  a  slight  tribute  of  respect  to  that  distinguished 
gentleman  whose  interesting  letter  has  just  been  read  to  us  ;  a  gentle- 
man with  whom  so  many  of  us  were  familiar  in  our  early  years ; 
whose  enterprise  and  liberality,  whose  private  virtue  and  moral  worth 
excite  the  deepest  regard  and  admiration,  not  only  in  his  own  country, 
but  in  Europe.  As  regards  Mr.  Peabody's  early  advantages  in  life,  he 
owes  nothing  to  the  influence  of  birth  and  fortune.  Though  of  highly 
respectable  parentage,  he  claims  no  alliance  to  the  aristocracy  of 
wealth  and  power  adventitiously  bestowed.  From  his  youth,  his  mind 
was  imbued  with  sound  principles.  Early  convinced  of  the  value  of 
time,  he  rightly  estimated  the  importance  of  improving  the  opportuni- 
ties and  advantages  of  education  with  which  he  was  favored  ;  and  we 
find  him  early  distinguished  by  those  habits  of  industry,  and  by  that 
purity  of  moral  conduct,  which  have  ever  since  been  pre-eminent  in 
his  character.  He  has  been  promoted  entirely  by  his  own  exertions 
and  merit.  At  home  and  abroad,  in  his  youth  and  in  his  manhood, 
industry,  decision,  and  perseverance  characterize  every  stage  of  his 
life.  I  have  already  said  Mr.  Peabody  enjoys  the  highest  reputation 
as  a  merchant.     He  exhibits  the  most  perfect  example  of  assiduity. 


156  SKETCHES  OF  EMINENT  AMERICANS. 

sagacity,  and  foresight  in  his  business  transactions.  Perfectly  familiar 
with  the  currency  of  every  part  of  the  world  ;  thoroughly  acquainted 
with  the  resources,  the  financial  condition,  and  the  banking  systems  of 
different  nations  ;  enjoying  the  entire  confidence  of  corporations  and 
individuals,  his  mercantile  transactions  are  confined  by  no  sectional 
limits,  and  he  extends  his  operations  with  perfect  freedom  and  safety 
in  every  direction.  His  judgment  is  clear,  deliberate,  and  peculiarly 
discriminating.  He  regards  '  punctuality  as  the  soul  of  business  ;' 
and  never  nolates  the  most  trivial  engagements.  His  intercourse  in 
his  business  connections  with  others  is  always  attended  with  frankness 
and  candor  ;  and  we  rarely  if  ever  meet  with  a  merchant  of  eminence 
so  entirely  undisturbed  by  the  jealousy  or  envy  of  others.  He  never 
exhibits  in  his  business  transactions  any  of  those  little  tricks  and  con- 
cealments which  indicate  a  weak  and  dishonorable  mind.  He  holds 
in  abhorrence  that  meanness  of  spirit  which,  for  a  little  apparent  profit, 
would  insinuate  evil  of  another,  or  even  consent  by  silence  to  a  mis- 
taken estimate  of  his  worth.  He  has  none  of  that  jealousy  which  fears 
a  rival  in  every  person  pursuing  the  same  end  ;  nor  of  that  arrogant 
self-esteem  which  owns  no  fallibility  of  judgment.  In  all  his  inter- 
course with  his  mercantile  brethren,  he  is  gentlemanly  and  respectful, 
and  secures  their  esteem,  not  less  by  his  acknowledged  abilities  than 
by  his  modesty  and  courtesy.  The  free  expression  of  opinion,  up- 
rightly formed,  he  believes  to  be  the  right  and  duty  of  an  honest  man, 
and  to  the  exercise  of  which  by  others  he  is  unusually  tolerant.  His 
opinion  is  of  the  highest  authority ;  but  it  is  given  with  so  much  mo- 
desty that  he  never  gives  offence,  even  where  there  might  be  difference 
of  judgment.  There  is  nothing  haughty  or  arrogant  in  his  character ; 
and  the  feelings  of  respect  which  his  acquaintance  excites,  arise  from 
his  dignified  deportment,  combined  with  native  simplicity  of  manner. 
Mr.  Peabody's  moral  sensibilities  are  exalted  and  refined  ;  but  if  any 
one  quality  of'  his  heart  prevails  and  acts  as  a  presiding  divinity  over 
the  man,  it  is  his  benevolence.  The  citizens  of  his  native  town,  as 
well  as  in  every  community  in  which  he  has  lived,  will  never  forget 
or  cease  to  feel  the  influence  of  his  generous  acts.  The  various  acts 
of  his  munificence,  both  public  and  private,  I  will  not  detail  to  you 
here. 

"  They  are  already  a  by-word  upon  our  lips.  Although  the  hand  of 
time  may  obliterate  the  pages  upon  which  the  gifts  of  our  valued  friend 
are  recorded,  we  trust  that  his  memory  and  the  objects  of  his  generous 
care  will  be  cherished,  till  time  shall  be  no  more. 

"  The  proverbial  benevolence  of  Mr.  Peabody  prompts  him  to  seek 
out  rather  than  shun  adversity,  and  when  it  is  discovered,  he  never 
'passes  by  on  the  other  side.'  His  heart  is  alive  to  all  the  tender 
and  generous  sensibilities  of  our  nature,  throwing  the  drapery  of  kind- 
ness over  the  chamber  of  affliction,  and  lighting  up  by  the  sunshine  of 
benevolence  the  sky  overcast  by  distress  and  adversity.  In  public 
improvements  in  the  various  efforts  for  moral  elevation  and  intellectual 
advancement,  or  for  advancing  the  interest  and  cojnforts  of  all  around 
him,  the  heart  and  hand  of  George  Peabody  are  readily  enlisted.  He 
is  the  ardent  and  active  friend  of  social  order,  and  of  the  substantial 
institutions  of  society.      To  the  presence  of  his  benevolent  affec- 


GEOilGE  PEABODY,  OF  LONDON.  157 

tions  he  is  indebted  for  that  graceful  and  easy  politeness,  that  unas- 
suming suavity  of  temper,  which  are  so  conspicuous  in  his  intercourse 
with  others,  and  which  so  justly  and  eminently  entitle  him  to  our  gra- 
titude, and  secure  for  him  unrivalled  esteem,  affection,  and  respect. 
On  the  character  of  such  a  man  as  George  Peabody,  we  can  dwell 
only  with  delight  and  satisfaction. 

"  It  has  no  shades,  no  dark  spot,  which  his  friends  would  desire  to 
conceal  or  remove,  no  eccentricity  to  detract  from  its  merit.  His 
well-balanced  mind  leads  him  to  right  views  upon  every  subject.  His 
acute  moral  sense  has  always  kept  him  in  the  path  of  rectitude.  He 
possesses  honesty  that  cannot  be  corrupted,  and  integrity  that  cannot 
be  shaken  by  adversity.  His  inflexible  moral  principles  art  written' 
upon  his  countenance,  upon  every  word  that  falls  from  his  lips,  and 
upon  every  action  of  his  life.     Such  is  George  Peabody. 

"  The  town  of  Danvers  ouglit  justly  to  be  proud  of  that  favorite  son, 
whose  life  and  character,  whose  urbanity  of  manners,  and  whose  mer- 
cantile experience  are  producing  a  beneficial  influence  upon  the  mer- 
cantile character  of  Great  Britain  that  is  entirely  beyond  a  parallel. 
May  his  example  stimulate  all  our  young  men,  who  are  pressing  for- 
ward in  the  path  of  high  and  honorable  distinction." 

The  following  sentiment  was  then  given  : 

"  Our  fellow-townsman,  Sylvester  Proctor,  Esq.,  venerable  for  his 
years,  and  honored  for  his  virtues.  It  is  a  proud  distinction  for  him 
to  sit  in  the  seat  at  our  festival,  designed  for  George  Peabody,  of 
London." 

(Mr.  Peabody  had  requested  that  Mr.  Sylvester  Proctor  should  oc- 
cupy the  seat  he  would  have  filled  had  he  been  present.) 

EXTR.\CT  FROM   THE  SPEECH  OF  JUDGE  WHITE. 

"  But  especially  and  most  of  all,  would  I  congratulate  you  upon  the 
richest  incident  of  the  day — the  noble  benefaction  which  has  just  been 
announced — truly,  a  noble  close  to  a  noble  celebration. 

"  For  ever  honored  be  the  name  of  George  Peabody,  your  distin- 
guished fellow-townsman  of  London,  for  his  bountiful  gift,  and  its  wise 
appropriation.  Well  does  he  deserve  the  burst  of  grateful  enthusiasm 
which  you  have  so  spontaneously  given  him,  and  which  your  children 
will  catch  from  you.  This  gift,  so  appropriated,  is  in  the  very  spirit  of 
your  celebration  ;  in  the  very  spirit  of  the  fathers  whose  memory  you 
venerate.  The  expressed  sentiment  accompanying  the  gift  consecrates 
it  the  more  entirely,  and  will  the  more  endear  the  name  of  the  high- 
minded  donor.  That  '  education  is  a  debt  due  from  present  to 
future  generations,'  was  a  fundamental  principle  with  our  sagacious 
forefathers,  manifested  by  them  in  all  their  conduct.  To  the  steady 
operation  of  this  principle  are  we  chiefly  indebted  for  our  choicest 
blessings.  If  we  value  these  blessings,  let  us  never  forget  the  means 
of  perpetuating  them.  George  Peabody  is  doubly  your  benefactor,  by 
reminding  you  of  your  high  obligations,  and  at  the  same  time  by  en- 
larging your  ability  to  fulfil  them. 

FROM   THE  SPEECH  OF   THE   HON.   ROBERT  S.   DANIELS. 

"  There  is  one  more  of  our  native  citizens  to  whom,  under  the  cir- 


158  SKETCHES  OF  EMINENT  AMERICANS. 

cumstances  of  the  occasion,  I  feel  at  liberty  to  allude,  and  of  whom 
my  friend  near  me  (Mr.  Proctor)  has  spoken  so  justly  and  truly,  and 
that  is  George  Peabody,  Esq.,  of  London  ;  and  it  was  my  fortune  to  have 
known  him,  and  to  have  associated  with  him  in  some  measure  before 
he  left  his  native  town — not  so  much,  however,  as  my  brother  David, 
who,  I  believe,  was  one  of  his  most  intimate  friends.  I  recollect 
George  Peabody  as  an  active,  intelligent  young  man,  of  dignified  de- 
portment, tall  and  commanding  in  person  ,  and  I  ask  what  has  made 
him  what  he  is  ?  A  resident  of  London,  of  immense  wealth,  highly 
respected  and  esteemed  throughout  the  world  for  his  high  sense  of 
honor,  his  unbending  integrity,  his  public  spirit,  his  humanity,  his 
generosity,  and  his  elevated  standing  among  the  merchant  princes  of 
the  old  and  new  worlds.  There  is  no  one  here  to-day  (and  there  are 
but  few  who  have  known  how  he  has  passed  along  from  our  common 
district  schools  to  his  present  elevated  position)  but  would  say  that  his 
character  all  the  way  through  life  must  have  been  distinguished  for 
industry,  for  integrity,  for  virtue,  for  honor,  and  all  those  characteris- 
tics which  command  the  respect  and  esteem  of  all  persons  of  all  ages. 
These  are  all  necessary  to  a  successful  business  career.  Think  of 
these  things,  young  men  !  You,  probably,  cannot  all  be  George  Pea- 
bodys  ;  but  you  may  attain  to  a  desirable  and  respectable  standing  in 
the  community  ;  and  some  of  you,  if  you  will  but  adhere  to  the  rules 
of  life  which  must  have  governed  him,  may  obtain  wealth  and  an 
honorable  distinction  among  your  fellow-citizens,  and  a  peaceful  and 
happy  old  age,  filled  with  a  glorious  hope  of  a  blessed  inunortality. 

"  What  town  can  point  to  a  higher  and  nobler  example,  as  incentives 
to  stimulate  our  young  men  to  a  virtuous  and  correct  deportment,  than 
Danvers,  when  she  points  to  Daniel  P.  King  and  George  Peabody  ? 
May  the  next  centennial  celebration  find  many  of  your  names  enrolled 
as  high  in  the  estimation  of  those  who  may  meet  on  that  occasion,  as 
are  those  of  Peabody  and  King  at  this  time.  I  beseech  you,  keep 
them  constantly  in  mind.    It  is  a  high  aim,  but  not  beyond  your  reach." 

Mr.  Thayer,  of  Beverly,  in  his  speech,  alludes  to  Mr.  Peabody  and 
his  donation  in  the  following  terms  : 

"  Would  that  it.  (the  donation)  might  have  its  legitimate  effect  in 
prompting  others  near  to,  or  distant  from,  the  places  of  their  birth,  to 
like  generous  uses  of  wealth,  and  like  splendid  benefactions.  Its 
author  having  by  diligence,  talent,  high  character,  and,  no  doubt, 
favoring  fortune,  risen  to  opulence  and  commanding  station,  has  had 
the  wisdom  to  turn  these  to  ends  alike  creditable  and  useful.  In  a 
dark  hour  of  misfortune  and  disgrace,  he  brought  them  to  retrieve  and 
support  his  country's  commercial  honor.  By  a  stroke  of  social  policy, 
not  less  felicitous  than  bold,  he  converted  a  celebration  of  our  national 
birthday  on  British  ground  into  an  enduring  cement  of  peaceful  union 
between  our  mother  country  and  her  rebel  offspring. 

"  To  his  countrymen  abroad  he  has  extended  a  heartfelt  welcome  and 
a  cherishing  hand,  and  among  foreigners,  made  them  at  home.  He 
has  not  unwisely,  as  so  many  do,  waited  to  have  his  superfluous  abun- 
dance dispense  from  a  lifeless  hand — to  cast  his  bread  upon  the 
waters  when  it  could  return  to  him  no  more.     He  would  not  die  with- 


GEORGE  PEABODY,  OF  LONDON.  159 

out  a  sight  of  the  tree,  or  without  gathering  from  the  fruit  of  the  tree 
which  he  had  himself  planted.  Not  content,  too,  with  cultivating  the 
field  immediately  before  him,  and  doing  the  good  which  lies  directly 
about  him,  his  large  and  true  heart,  quitting  the  cares  and  whirl  of 
business  in  the  world's  great  centre,  leaving  the  scenes  of  his  triumphs 
— of  the  affluence  and  splendor  which  surround  him  there,  where  he 
dwells  prince  among  princes — a  merchant  prince  indeed,  one  of  right 
royal  blood,  that  which  flows  in  the  veins  of  nature's  noblemen,  with 
the  beautiful  love  for  the  place  of  his  nativity,  that  is  akin  to  the  affec- 
tion for  one's  own  mother,  traverses  the  ocean  and  comes  hither,  seek- 
ing out  the  house  in  which  he  was  born,  the  humble  school-room  in 
which  he  was  early  trained,  the  spot  where  stood  the  ancient  church 
in  which  he  was  taught  to  worship  God,  and  from  which  it  is  provided 
with  touching  simplicity,  in  the  conditions  on  which  the  institution  he 
has  so  liberally  devised  is  bestowed,  '  that  it  shall  not  be  far  removed.' 
That  enlarged  and  liberal  heart  is  with  us  to-day — in  spirit,  though 
not  in  person,  mingling  with  a  ready  and  thorough  sympathy  in  these 
joyous  festivities,  and  crowning  them  with  a  wreath  of  princely  bene- 
volence, thus  rendering  them  thrice  joyful,  and  by  this  golden  offering 
laid  on  the  festive  board,  and  consecrated  to  good  learning  with  the 
virtues  and  graces  by  which  it  is  rightly  attended  and  adorned,  glad- 
dening the  hearts  and  immeasurably  blessing  the  minds  of  multitudes 
of  the  present  and  countless  future  generations.  Such  an  example, 
while  it  sheds  lustre  on  our  nature  and  universal  man,  belongs  to  the 
world.  All  of  us  in  this  community,  whence  it  originated,  have  a  pe- 
culiar property  in  it,  which,  were  it  necessary,  we  should  strenuously 
assert,  of  which  you  could  not  if  you  would,  though  I  am  sure  you  would 
not  if  you  could,  have  any,  even  the  humblest  of  us,  deprived." 

Note. — We  take  the  following  from  the  National  Intdligencer  of  February  1, 
1853  : 

"  Mr.  Peabody  is  an  American  in  heart  and  spirit,  a  business  man  of  the  best 
school,  munificent  in  his  charities  and  in  the  hospitalities  of  his  house,  and  devot- 
ing them  both  to  the  cultivation  of  kindly  relations  between  the  land  of  his  tempo- 
rary adoption  and  the  United  States.  When  the  Grimiell  Expedition  had  returned 
from  the  Arctic  seas,  more  than  a  year  ago,  Congress  was  solicited  to  accept  the 
services  of  the  same  vessels  for  a  renewal  of  the  search.  At  this  time  Mr.  Pea- 
body  wrote  to  his  correspondent  in  this  country  : 

"  '  1  hope  that  Congress  wiU  nobly  respond  to  what  appears  to  be  the  feeling  of 
the  nation  ;  but,  aware  of  the  uncertainty  of  votes  on  appropriations  of  money  for 
such  objects,  as  well  as  of  the  short  time  remaining  to  make  the  required  arrange- 
ments for  the  comfort  and  safety  of  our  brave  officers  and  men  who  are  willing  to 
risk  their  lives  in  the  undertaking,  I  have  to  request  you,  in  such  an  event,  to  sub- 
scribe for  the  purpose,  in  my  behalf,  the  sum  of  ten  thousand  dollars.' 

"  The  project  did  not  then  go  into  effect,  and  it  was  only  last  month  that  Mr. 
Peabody  was  informed  of  the  new  expedition  fitting  out  in  charge  of  Dr.  Kane, 
under  the  auspices  of  Mr.  Grinnell.  Replying  to  a  friend  who  had  given  him  the 
information,  he  writes  : 

"'When  I  made  the  offer  in  January  last,  a  desire  to  gratify  feelings  of  interna- 
tional good  will  and  friendship  made  me  anxious  that  an  American  expedition 
should  accompany  that  of  Sir  Edward  Belcher,  to  assist  in  the  pursuit  of  an  object 
worthy  of  the  two  countries,  and  honorable  to  the  adventurous  men  who  would 
volunteer  their  services.  ♦  *  *  But  as  Mr.  Grinnell  says,  that  the  pros- 
pect of  success  is  as  great  as  it  was  last  year,  I  shall  be  happy  to  be  an  humble 
follower  of  that  gentleman  in  his  praiseworthy  course  ;  and  if  it  should  be  thought 
advisable  to  send  out  one  or  more  vessels  in  search  of  Sir  John  Franklin  and  his 
companions,  I  fully  authorize  you  to  give  in  my  behalf  for  that  object  ten  thousand 
dollars.' " 


^ 


\ 


■Sj, 


'S*a-ved 


'.fQRJS  JfEU. 


NATHAN    COVINGTON    BROOKS,    OF    MARYLAND.  161 

NATHAN  COVINGTON  BROOKS,  A.M., 

PRESIDENT  OF  THE  BALTIMORE  FEMALE  COLLEGE. 

The  path  of  the  red  man  through  the  primeval  forest  is  marked  by 
his  trail.  A  foot-print  on  the  dried  leaves,  the  treading  down  of  the 
long  grass,  a  branch  turned  aside,  or  a  broken  twig,  serves  to  point 
out  the  path  of  the  hunter.  When  the  white  man  passes  through,  he 
cuts  deep  notches  in  the  trees  as  he  passes  along,  to  indicate  to  his 
successors  the  path  that  he  has  taken.  Is  not  the  world  a  great  green 
forest,  through  which  we  are  all  making  our  way,  each  to  the  best  of 
his  ability,  and  each  striving  to  leave  behind  him  as  broad  a  trail  as 
possible  ?  Tall  trees  clasp  their  arms  overhead,  and  their  thick  Ibliage 
hides  heaven  from  his  view,  yet  still  the  traveller  travels  forward. 
Dense  copses,  thick  with  brush  and  bramble,  cross  his  path  ;  and  still 
he  presses  onward,  though  broken  branches  and  tattered  garments, 
perhaps  even  drops  of  blood,  mark  his  footsteps.  Is  there  any  so 
luckless  as  to  pass  through  and  leave  no  track  behind,  like  the  ship 
that  ploughs  a  momentary  furrow  in  the  ocean,  which  the  next  moment 
is  effaced  for  ever  ?  We  believe  not.  W^e  think  that  even  the  hum- 
blest leaves  his  mark — a  strong  or  a  faint  one,  a  right  or  a  wrong  one, 
behind.  We  believe  that  every  human  being  is  born  into  the  world  to 
do  a  work  ;  and  leaves  not  the  world  until  his  work,  whether  of  doing 
or  of  suffering,  in  accomplished ;  and  that  as  material  force,  once  brought 
into  operation,  can  never  be  destroyed,  but  is  propagated  in  a  series  of 
vibrations,  from  atom  to  atom,  to  the  end  of  time  ;  so  the  force  of 
mind  is  likewise  indestructible  and  eternal.  Happy  he  who  uses  this 
force  wisely — who  sets  the  seal  of  truth  upon  that  portion  of  the 
scroll  of  time  that  is  unrolled  for  him. 

It  has  long  been  a  disputed  question,  whether  the  man  of  action 
or  the  man  of  thought  e.xerts  the  greater  influence  on  the  world  ;  and 
though  much  may  bo  said  on  both  sides,  truth  seems  to  lie  between. 
The  former  makes  the  greater  impression  upon  contemporaries ;  the 
latter  upon  posterity.  The  influence  of  the  former  is  the  more  in- 
tense while  it  lasts,  but  it  soon  reaches  its  highest  point,  after  which 
it  continually  decreases  ;  while  that  of  the  latter,  thouj^h  small  and 
perhaps  unnoticed  at  first,  goes  on  accumulating  strength  throughout 
eternity.  The  one  is  a  summer  shower,  that  drives  pattering  into  the 
hard  dry  ground,  and  evaporates  in  the  next  hour  of  sunshine.  The 
other  is  the  soft  and  gentle  rain  of  spring,  that  falls  slowly  and  sinks 
deeply  into  the  earth ;  and  though  it  may  be  forgotten  for  a  while,  it 
reappears  after  a  season  in  the  blooming  flowers  of  spring  and  the 
rich  fruits  of  autumn.  The  subject  of  the  present  sketch  belongs 
partly  to  both  these  classes  ;  but  we  shall  consider  him  principally  in 
the  character  of  a  thinker  and  a  teacher.  In  the  short  memoir  that 
follows,  the  reader  will  not  expect  to  find  the  romance  of  personal  ad- 
venture, or  the  excitement  of  political  intrigue,  or  the  indescribable 
attraction  of  successful  money-gathering.     Let  others  admire  the  rain- 

11 


162  SKETCHES  OF  EMINENT  AMERICANS. 

formed  torrent  dashing  madly  from  the  mountain's  brow  ;  be  ours  the 
humbler  but  not  less  pleasing  task  to  trace  the  broad,  deep  river,  flow- 
ing noiselessly  to  the  ocean,  but  spreading  beauty  and  fertility  wherever 
it  flows. 

Nathan  Covington  Brooks  was  born  in  Cecil  County,  Maryland,  on 
the  1 2th  of  August,  1809.  His  education  was  commenced  at  the 
West  Nottingham  Academy,  then  under  the  charge  of  the  Rev.  James 
Magraw,  D.  D.,  and  he  subsequently  graduated  at  St.  John's  College. 
Diligent  and  persevering  in  his  studies,  both  at  school  and  college,  his 
rapid  progress  and  high  attainments,  in  every  branch  of  scholarship, 
won  the  regard  of  his  teachers  ;  while  his  mild  and  amiable  manners, 
his  gentle  yet  fearless  disposition,  endeared  him  to  all  his  class-mates. 
While  his  principal  delight  was  in  the  study  of  the  classics,  he  devoted 
much  attention  to  mathematics,  and  made  many  a  long  excursion  into 
the  domain  of  metaphysics.  His  acute  and  versatile  genius  seemed 
equally  at  home  in  the  tragedies  of  Sophocles,  the  Calculus  of  Leib- 
nitz, and  the  profundities  of  Locke  and  Hume.  His  collegiate  essays 
and  speeches  were  distinguished  by  a  characteristic  broadness  of 
thought  and  an  equally  characteristic  luminousness  of  expression,  that 
promised  him  a  high  rank  among  future  authors.  Like  many  other 
writers,  some  of  his  earliest  eftbrts  were  in  verse.  Indeed,  it  might 
almost  be  said  of  hiin  as  of  Pope,  that  he  "  lisped  in  poetry."  So  far 
from  the  truth  is  the  common  notion  of  poetry  being  an  artificial  and 
conventional  investiture  of  thought,  that  poetry  is,  in  reality,  the  lan- 
guage of  nature,  and  prose  the  product  of  art.  Flashing  thoughts  and 
burning  passions  tind  their,  natural  vent  in  poetry  ;  it  is  only  after  long 
and  patient  constraint  that  they  submit  to  the  shackles  of  prose.  The 
wild  horse  of  the  desert  that  has  never  felt  bit  or  spur,  leaps,  and  gam- 
bols, and  gallops  ;  it  is  only  when  civilized  and  broken  that  he  can  be 
brought  to  the  steady  trot  or  the  stately  amble.  Here  we  have  at 
once  the  test  and  touchstone  of  true  poetrj-.  Are  the  words  but  a 
gaudy  robe  thrown  over  the  thoughts  to  conceal  their  worthlessness, 
like  the  gorgeous  mantle  which  the  painter  flings  over  his  lay  figure  ; 
or  is  there  a  form  of  life  and  beauty  underneath,  half  revealed  and 
half  concealed  by  the  transparent  drapery — beautiful  where  the  fair 
proportions  are  clearly  seen — exquisitely  ravishing  where  imagination 
supplies  what  the  artist  had  skilfully  veiled  ?  Are  the  tropes  and 
figures  of  the  poet  only  a  "  tawdry  paint  with  which  the  poor  thoughts 
had  submitted  to  be  rubbed  over  in  order  to  be  made  fine  ;"  or  when 
the  paint  is  rubbed  oif,  can  you  still  perceive  the  grandeur  of  the  out- 
line and  the  beauty  of  the  proportions  ?  Do  the  thoughts  come  hob- 
bling into  the  world,  like  a  Chinese  belle,  bandaged  into  measure  and 
squeezed  into  rhyme  ;  or  does  the  rhythm  appear  to  be  spontaneous, 
and  the  rhyme  accidental  ?  Abore  all,  when  rhyme  and  measure  are 
destroyed,  and  the  outward  symmetry  broken  up,  does  the  inward  har- 
mony remain  ?  Can  you  still  find  the  "  disjecta  membra  poetae  V 
Poetry  at  the  present  day  is  at  a  discount  ;  and  it  is  the  fashion  to 
complain  that  our  generation  is  particularly  barren  in  poets  ;  but  the 
popular  complaint  is  perhaps  only  a  popular  delusion.  If  poetry  is 
undervalued,  as  it  undoubtedly  is,  that  would  prove,  according  to   the 


NATHAN    COVINGTON    BROOKS,    OF    MARYLAND.  163 

principles  of  political  economy,  not  the  scarcity,  but  the  abundance  of 
the  article.  And  though  we  have  no  poets  of  the  first  water  among 
us — no  >Shakspeares,  or  Miltons,  or  Byrons,  yet  there  is  as  much 
verse,  and  good  verse,  too,  published  every  year  in  our  magazines  and 
newspapers,  as  would  have  made  the  reputation  of  a  dozen  of  poets 
a  century  ago.  The  "  fugitive  poetry"  of  America  is  equal,  if  not  su- 
[)erior,  to  that  of  any  other  country.  Lengthened  efforts  of  great  men 
we  cannot  indeed  boast  of,  for  the  "  cui  bono"  query  comes  home 
forcibly,  even  to  the  poet  that  breathes  our  dollar-hunting  atmosphere; 
and  long  poems  dun't  pay.  But  there  is  no  scarcity  of  literary  ama- 
teurs, who,  in  their  hours  of  recreation  and  gentle  dalliance  with  let- 
ters, betake  themselves  to  poetry,  as  an  amusement  for  their  leisure 
hours,  or  a  solace  amid  the  rude  trials  of  life  ;  and  their  verses  reach 
us  every  week,  or  every  month,  and  we  read,  and  we  smile  or  weep, 
as  the  case  may  be,  and  the  magazine  is  thrown  aside  and  forgotten. 
Amid  these  heaps  of  glittering  gems  there  may  be  some  of  paste,  mere 
imitations  that  deceive  only  the  ignorant ;  and  some  of  colored  glass, 
that  deceive  scarcely  any  one  :  but  there  may  also  be  found  the  real 
diamond,  small  it  may  be  in  size,  but  pure  and  sparkling. 

High  in  the  first  rank  of  these  writers  of  occasional  poetry  stands 
Mr.  Brooks.  Nature  in  all  her  forms  he  has  made  the  subject  of  close 
observation  and  profound  reflection  ;  and  in  looking  at  Nature,  he  has 
used  his  own  eyes,  and  not  the  spectacles  of  other  writers.  He  has 
a  keen  relish  for  the  beautiful,  and  a  deep  sympathy  with  the  truthful 
and  the  good.  His  taste,  formed  on  the  finest  models,  has  been  ripen- 
ed and  chastened  by  a  patient  study  of  the  great  monuments  of  anti- 
(juity.  His  conceptions  are  always  pure,  and  his  language  always 
ap})ropriate  ;  his  pathos  never  sinks  into  tawdry  sentimentalism,  and 
his  loftier  flights  never  degenerate  into  bombastic  declamation.  His 
thoughts  seem  to  be  the  natural  development  of  his  mind ;  and  his 
words  the  unstudied  expression  of  his  thoughts.  The  music  of  his 
verse  reminds  us  sometimes  of  the  soft  cadences  of  Hemans,  and  not 
unfrequently  of  the  mournful  harp  of  Byron. 

In  the  following  poem,  which  originally  appeared  in  the  London 
Literary  Gazette,  the  melody  of  the  verse,  and  the  gentle  play  of  ima- 
gination and  feeling,  strongly  remind  us  of  the  former  writer : — 


THE   MOTHER   AND   CHILD. 

The  flowers  you  reared  repose  in  sleep, 
With  folded  bells  where  the  ni«'ht-dew.s  weep, 
And  the  passing  wind  like  a  spirit  grieves 
In  a  gentle  dirge  throui>h  the  sighing  leaves. 
The  sun  will  kiss  the  dews  from  the  rose, 
Its  crimson  petals  again  unclo-^e, 
And  the  violet  ope  the  soft  blue  ray 
Of  its  modest  eye  to  the  gaze  of  (lay  : 
But  when  shall  the  dews  and  shades  that  lie 
So  cold  and  damp  on  thy  shrouded  eye. 
Be  chased  from  the  folded  lids,  my  child, 
And  thy  glance  break  forth  so  sweetly  wild  ' 


164  SKETCHES  OF  EMINENT  AMERICANS. 

The  fawn,  th/  paitner  in  sportive  play, 
Has  ceased  his  nrambols  at  close  of  day, 
And  his  we  uy  limbs  are  relaxed  and  free 
In  gentle  sleep  by  his  favorite  tree. 
He  will  wake  ere  long,  and  the  rosy  d  awn 
Will  call  him  forth  to^the  dewy  lawn  , 
And  his  sprightly  gambols  be  seen  again 
Through  the  parted  boughs  and  upon  the  plain; 
But  oh.  when  shall  slumber  cease  to  hold 
The  limbs  that  lie  so  still  and  cold  ? 
When  wilt  thou  come  with  thy  tiny  feet 
That  bounded  my  glad  embrace  to  meet? 

The  birds  you  tended  have  ceased  to  sing, 

And  shaded  their  eyes  with  the  velvet  wing ; 

And.  nestled  among  the  leaves  of  the  trees. 

They  are  rocked  to  rest  by  the  cool  night  breeze. 

The  morn  will  the  chains  of  sleep  unbind. 

And  spread  their  plumes  to  the  freshening  wind; 

And  music  from  many  a  warbler's  mouth 

Will  honey  the  grove,  like  the  breath  of  the  south 

But  when  shall  the  lips,  whose  lightest  word 

Was  sweeter  far  than  the  warbling  bird, 

Their  rich  wild  strain  of  melody  pour  ?  ^ 

They  are  mute !  they  are  cold!  they  will  ope  no  more  ! 

When  heaven's  great  bell,  in  a  tone  sublime, 
Shall  sovmd  the  knell  of  departed  Time, 
And  its  echoes  pierce  with  a  voice  profound 
Through  the  liquid  sea  and  the  solid  ground, 
Thou  wilt  wake,  my  child,  from  the  dreamless  sleep 
Whose  oblivious  dews  thy  senses  steep. 
And  then  shall  the  eye,  now  dim,  grow  bright 
In  the  glorious  ra)'s  of  heaven's  own  light ; 
The  limbs  that  an  angel's  semblance  wore, 
Bloom  'neath  living  trees  on  the  golden  shore; 
And  the  voice  that's  hushed,  God's  praises  hymn 
'JMid  the  bands  of  the  harping  seraphim. 

Take  as  a  further  example  of  Mr.  Brooks's  less  impassioned  manner, 
his  lines  upon  the  death  of  the  unfortunate  Shelley : 

SHELLEV'S  OBSEQUIES. 

Ibi  tu  calentem 

Debita  sparges  lacryitia  favillam 
Vatis  amici. — Hor. 

Beneath  the  a.xle  of  departing  day, 

The  weary  waters,  on  the  horizon's  verge, 
Blushed  like  the  cheek  of  children  tired  in  play, 

As  bore  the  surge 

The  wasted  poet's  form  with  slow  and  mournful  dirge. 

On  Via  Reggio's  surf-beaten  strand, 

The  late-relenting  sea,  with  hollow  moan. 
Gave  back  the  storm-tossed  body  to  the  land; 

As  if  in  tone 

Of  sorrow  it  bewailed  the  deed  itself  had  done. 


NATHAN  COVINGTON  BROOKS,  OF  MARYLAND.  165 

There  laid  upon  his  bier  of  shells — around 

The  moon  and  stars  their  lonely  vigils  kept, 
While  in  their  pall-like  shades  the  mountains  bound, 

And  night  bewept 

The  bard  of  nature,  as  in  death's  cold  arms  he  slept. 

The  tuneful  morn  arose  with  locks  of  light — 
The  ear  that  drank  her  music's  call  was  chill; 

The  eye  that  shone  was  sealed  in  endless  night; 
And  cold  and  still 
The  pulses  stood  that  'neath  her  gaze  were  wont  to  thrill. 

With  trees  e'en  like  the  sleeper's  honors  seared, 

And  prows  of  galleys  like  his  bosom  riven, 
The  melancholy  pile  of  death  was  reared 

Aloft  to  heaven, 

And  on  its  pillared  height  the  corse  to  torches  given. 

From  his  meridian  throne,  the  eye  of  day 

Beheld  the  kindlings  of  the  funeral  fire. 
Where,  like  a  war-worn  Roman  chieftain,  lay 

Upon  his  pyre, 

The  poet  of  the  broken  heart  and  broken  lyre. 

On  scented  wings  the  sorrowing  breezas  came, 
And  fanned  the  blaze,  until  the  smoke  that  rushed 

In  dusky  volumes  upward,  lit  with  flame, 
All  redly  blushed 
Like  melancholy's  sombre  cheek  by  weeping  flushed. 

And  brother  bards*  upon  that  lonely  shore 
Were  standing  by,  and  wept,  as  brightly  burned 

The  pyre,  till  all  the  form  they  loved  before, 
To  ashes  turned. 
With  incense,  wine  and  tears,  was  sprinkled  and  inumed  ! 

The  following  Prize  Poem  is  of  a  more  serious  and  elevated  cha- 
racter. It  is  the  outburst  of  a  mind  deeply  imbued  with  classic  lore, 
and  a  knowledge  of  ancient  religious  ritual  in  all  its  forms,  which  turns 
from  the  beautiful  yet  vain  imaginings  of  Grecian  fable,  the  solemn 
grandeur  of  the  Egyptian  myth,  and  the  gloomy  rites  of  Eastern  su- 
perstition, to  the  simple  yet  pure  and  sublime  truths  of  the  Gospel,  and 
with  a  lofty  paean  hails  the  triumphs  of  the  Cross  : 


THE  FALL  OF  SUPERSTITION. 

The  Star  of  Bethlehem  rose,  and  truth  and  light 
Burst  on  the  nations  that  reposed  in  night. 
And  chased  the  Stygian  shades  with  rosy  smile, 
That  spread  from  Error's  home,  the  land  of  Nile. 
No  more,  with  harp  and  sistrum,  Music  calls 
To  wanton  rites  within  Astarte's  halls. 
The  priests  forget  to  mourn  their  Apis  slain, 
And  bear  Osiris'  ark  with  pompous  train ; 

*  Byron  and  Leigh  Hunt. 


166  SKETCHES  OF  EMINENT  AMERICANS. 

Gone  is  Serapis,  and  Anubis  fled. 

And  Neitha's*  unraised  veil  shrouds  Isis'  prostrate  head. 

Where  Jove  shook  heaven  when  the  red  bolt  was  hurled, 
Neptune  the  sea — and  Pha^bus  lit  the  world; 
Where  fair-haired  naiads  held  each  silver  flood, 
A  faun  each  field — a  dryad  every  wood, 
The  myriad  gods  have  fled  ;  and  God  alone 
Above  their  ruined  fanes  has  reared  his  throne.f 
No  more  the  Augur  stands  in  snowy  shroud, 
To  watch  each  flitting  wing  and  rolling  cloud; 
Nor  Supeistition  in  dim  twilight  weaves 
Her  wizard  song  among  Dodona's  leaves  ; 
Phcebus  is  dumb,  and  votaries  crowd  no  more 
The  Delphian  mountain  and  the  Delian  shore; 
And  lone  and  still  the  Lybian  Ammon  stands, 
His  utterance  stifled  by  the  desert  sands. 

No  more  in  Cnydian  bower  or  Cyprian  grove 
The  golden  censers  flame  with  gifts  to  Love. 
The  pale-eyed  V^estal  bends  no  more  and  prays, 
Where  the  eternal  fire  sends  up  its  blaze ; 
Cybele  hears  no  more  the  cymbaFs  sound. 
The  Lares  shiver  the  fireless  hearthstone  round  ; 
And  shattered  shrine  and  altar  lie  o'erthrown, 
Inscriptionless,  save  where  oblivion  lone 
Has  dimly  traced  his  name  upon  the  mouldering  stone. 

Medina's  sceptre  is  despoiled  of  might — 
Stretched  over  realms  that  bowed  in  pale  affright, 
The  Moon,  that  rose  as  waved  the  scimetar, 
Where  sunk  the  Cross  amid  the  storm  of  war, 
Now  ditn  and  pale  is  hastening  to  its  wane  ; 
The  sword  is  broke  that  spread  the  Koran's  reign, 
And  soon  shall  minaret  and  swelling  dome 
Fall  like  the  fanes  of  Egypt,  Greece,  and  Rome. 

On  other  lands  has  dawned  immortal  day, 
And  superstition's  clouds  have  rolled  away; 
O'er  Gallia's  mounts  and  on  lona's  shore 
The  Runic  altars  roll  their  smoke  no  more ; 
Fled  is  the  Druid  from  the  ancient  oak. 
His  harp  is  mute — his  magic  circle  broke; 
And  Desolation  mopes  in  Odin's  cells. 
Where  spirit  voices  called  to  join  the  feast  of  shells. 

O'er  Indian  plains  and  ocean-girded  isles. 
With  brow  of  beauty.  Truth  serenely  smiles: 
The  nations  bow,  as  ligbt  is  shed  abroad, 
And  break  their  idols  for  the  living  God; 
Where  human  streams  in  purple  currents  run, 
And  votive  flesh  hangs  quivering  in  the  sun. 
Quenched  are  the  pyres  as  shines  Sal va< ion's  star, 
Grim  Juggernaut  is  trembling  on  his  car, 

♦  "  I  am  all  that  is.  that  was,  and  that  shall  be,  and  no  one  has  ever  lifted  my  veil." 
t  The  Pantheon  that  was  built  to  all  the  gods  was  transformed  into  a  Christian 
fthurch. 


NATHAN  COVINGTON'  BROOKS,  OF  MARYLAND.  167 

And  cries  less  frequent  come  from  Ganges'  waves, 
As  infant  forms  sink  in  untimely  graves. 
Where  heathen  prayers  flamed  by  the  cocoa  tree,* 
They  supplicate  the  Christian's  Deity, 
And  chant,  in  living  isles,  the  vesper  hymn, 
Where  giant  god-trees  rear  their  temples  dim.f 

Still  speed  thy  truth !  still  wave  thy  spirit  sword, 
Till  every  land  acknowledge  thee  the  Lord, 
And  the  broad  banner  of  the  Cross  unfurled, 
In  triumph  wave  above  a  subject  world. 
And  here,  oh  God !  where  feuds  thy  church  divide — 
The  sectary's  rancor  and  the  bigot's  pride — 
Melt  every  heart — till  all  our  breasts  enshrine 
One  faith,  one  hope,  one  love,  one  zeal  divine; 
And  with  one  voice  adoring  nations  call 
Upon  the  Father  and  the  God  of  all. 

Thus  light  and  truth  shall  le?d  thy  empire  on, 
Till  in  full  blaze  burst  the  millennial  dawn: 
Then  trumpet  blasts  the  serried  hosts  no  more 
Shall  call  where  battle  stains  the  fields  with  gore ; 
But  Peace  shall  spread  her  circling  arms  abroad, 
And  quiet  reign  on  all  the  mount  of  God  , 
The  ox  and  spotted  leopard  graze  the  plain. 
The  sportive  children  toss  the  lion's  mane, 
And  joyful  nations  in  the  shade  recline, 
Beneath  the  olive  and  the  mantling  vine, 
A  holy  church  with  endless  Sabbath  blest. 
Fair  type  and  pledge  of  future  heavenly  rest. 

In  all  the  poetry  Mr.  Brooks  has  given  to  the  world,  there  are  the 
evidences  of  true  genius  ;  but  all  that  he  has  hitherto  written  must  be 
regarded  rather  as  promises  than  performances — single  draughts  from 
a  clear  well,  whose  depths  have  not  yet  been  fathomed. 

The  muses  of  poetry  and  history  are  sisters.  Indeed,  one  of  the 
earliest  and  noblest  forms  of  poetry,  the  epic,  is  essentially  historic  in 
its  character.  Goldsmith,  Scott,  and  Macaulay,  are  examples  that 
poetry  and  history  are  kindred  fields  of  labor.  We  need  not  be  sur- 
prised, therefore,  to  see  Mr.  Brooks,  after  paying  his  addresses  to 
Melpomene,  transfer  his  attentions  to  her  sister,  Clio.  The  events  of 
the  late  Mexican  war  made  a  deep  impression  on  his  mind,  for  they 
appealed  not  only  to  his  patriotism,  but  to  his  imagination  and  his 
literary  tastes.  There  was  much  in  the  origin,  progress,  and  details 
of  that  war,  that  recalled  vividly  to  his  remembrance  the  pages  of 
antiquity  over  which  his  youthful  fancy  had  revelled,  and  which  were 
"  familiar  in  his  mouth  as  household  words."  Here,  in  our  own  day, 
almost  within  our  own  borders,  were  being  enacted  the  very  counter- 
parts of  those  gallant  deeds,  which  long  ago  Homer  celebrated  in 
verse,  and  Thucydides  and  Herodotus  in  prose.  Rival  republics  quar- 
rel about  a  former  ally  and  a  disputed  territory.     Armies  are  sent  to 

•  Prayers  in  India  are  written  and  burnt  as  incense  before  their  idols, 
t  The   Indicus  Ficus,  or  Banyan,  called  god-trees  by  the  natives,  are  used  ae 
temples. 


168  SKETCHES    OF    EMINENT    AMERICANS. 

the    frontier — to   watch    one    another — nothing   more.     Accidentally, 
almost,  they  come  into  collision.     The  flint  is  struck,  the  spark  falls, 
the  fire  spreads.     There  are  marches,  and  counter-marches,  sieges, 
skirmishes,  and  battles,  jealousies  in  camp,  intrigues  at  home,  troops 
are  withdrawn,  generals   recalled  ; — there   are   more   marches,  more 
sieges,  more  battles,  then  come  negotiations,  and  peace  at  last.     It  is 
the  old  story  of  the  old  books  over  again  ; — the  fearfully  intense  excite- 
ment of  the  present  being  substituted  for  the  dreamy  interest  of  the 
past.     The  whole  style   and  manner  of  the  warfare  were  more  after 
the  primitive  fashion  of  the  ancients  than  the  elaborate  science  of  the 
moderns.     More  depended  on  individual  valor,  and  less  upon  combined 
action.     There  was  greater  room  for  the  display  of  personal  courage 
in  the  private  soldier  ;  and  less  for  rapid  combination  and  grand  evolu- 
tions on  the  part  of  the  commander.     This  was,  indeed,  the  secret  of 
our  success  ;  every  man  was  a  hero,  and  acted  a  hero's  part.     Does 
not  the   following  description  remind  the  reader  strongly  of  what  he 
used  to  read  in  his  young  days  about  the  valiant  deeds  that  were  done 
"  under  the  lofty  walls  of  Troy,"  or  by  the  yellow  stream  of  Xanthus  ? 
"  While  Colonel  Macintosh  was  forcing  his  way  through  a  dense 
thicket  of  chapparal,  lined  with  infantry  and  cavalry,  his  horse  was 
struck  with  a  shot,  and  fell  dead,  and  the   colonel  was  precipitated 
through  the  chapparal  into  the  midst  of  the  enemy.     Mounting  to  his 
feet,  he   encountered  them  sword   in  hand,  and  warded  off"  for  the 
instant  both  bayonets  and  lance-points  ;  but  he  was  soon  overpowered 
by  numbers,  and  disabled  by  wounds.     A  bayonet  entered  his  mouth, 
and  came  out  at  his  ear  ;  a  second  aimed  at  his  heart,  pierced  through 
h'.s  arm,  and   terribly  shattered  the  bone  ;   while  by  a  third,  which 
passed  through  his  hip,  he  was  borne  down  and  pinned  to  the  earth." 
— Brooks's  History  of  the  Mexican  War,  p.  145. 

With  a  soul  full  of  his  subject,  Mr.  Brooks  approached  his  work, 
and  the  result  has  been  the  most  authentic,  the  most  interesting,  and  the 
most  impartial  history  of  the  Mexican  War  that  has  yet  appeared. 
Standing  himself  in  the  background,  never  obtruding  his  own  senti- 
ments unnecessarily  on  the  reader,  he  brings  forward  his  subject 
clearly  and  prominently  ;  gives  a  luminous  description  of  the  condition 
of  Mexico  after  the  acknowledgment  of  her  independence  ;  takes  a 
rapid  but  most  interesting  survey  of  the  principal  events  in  the  revolt 
of  Texas  ;  details  clearly  and  concisely  the  misunderstandings  in 
which  the  war  originated,  and  the  circumstances  by  which  it  Avas  pre- 
cipitated ;  through  every  stage  of  the  war,  from  the  bombardment  of 
Fort  Brown  till  the  surrender  of  the  capital,  the  capture  of  Tobasco, 
and  the  opening  of  the  negotiations  for  peace,  we  follow  the  wand  of 
the  enchanter  with  an  interest  that  never  flags,  and  an  attention  that 
never  wearies.  Such  is  the  skill  of  his  arrangement,  the  wisdom  of 
his  reflections,  and  the  truthfulness  of  his  descriptions,  that  we  seem 
to  be  thinking  and  seeing  for  ourselves,  rather  than  reading  the  sights 
and  thoughts  of  another. 

It  is  not  merely  as  a  poet  and  as  a  historian  that  the  subject  of  the 
present  memoir  commends  himself  to  our  regard.  He  has  another, 
and,  in  our  opinion,  even  a  higher  claim  upon  our  notice,  in  his  char- 
acter as  a  teacher.     It  is  as  a  leader  in  the  great  army  of  education 


NATHAN  COVINGTON  BROOKS,  OF  MARYLAND.  169 

that  we  are  most  anxious  to  present  him  before  our  readers.  Of  all 
the  battles  of  which  our  earth  has  been  the  theatre,  that  between  light 
and  darkness,  truth  and  error,  ignorance  and  knowledge,  has  been  the 
longest  and  the  fiercest ;  and  in  its  consequences  the  most  important. 
To  know  or  not  to  know — that  is  the  grand  question  of  our  day.  The 
fate  of  kingdoms  and  republics  lies  in  the  hand  of  the  schoolmaster 
more  than  of  king  or  congress.  Ignorance,  superstition,  slavery,  on 
the  one  side  ;  knowledge,  religion,  liberty,  on  the  other  ;  such  are  the 
hosts  now  drawn  up  in  array  on  the  battle-field  of  the  world.  Who 
would  not  be  a  leader  or  a  standard-bearer  in  such  an  enterprise  ? 
Where  can  we  find  a  nobler  employment  ?  where  a  heavier  respon- 
sibility ?  Our  independence,  acquired  by  superior  valor,  must  be  pre- 
served by  superior  enlightenment ;  and  the  universality  of  our  freedom 
will  depend  upon  the  universality  of  our  education.  The  enemy 
knows  well,  (and  he  has  already  shown  that  he  knows  it,)  that  the 
fatal  blow  against  American  liberty  must  be  struck  at  American 
schools. 

Mr.  Brooks  commenced  his  career  as  a  teacher  at  the  early  age  of 
eighteen  ;  and  has  persevered  in  it  Avithout  interruption  till  the  present 
time,  during  which  he  has  conducted  several  institutions  of  high  stand- 
ing. In  the  year  1 839,  on  the  establishment  of  the  Baltimore  High  School, 
he  was  unanimously  elected  principal,  over  forty-five  applicants  ;  a 
post  for  which  his  long  experience  and  his  wonderfully  varied  attain- 
ments peculiarly  fitted  him.  The  public  school  system  had  been  in 
operation  for  about  nine  years  ;  and  yet  not  more  than  six  hundred  pu- 
pils were  to  be  found  in  all  the  schools.  During  the  nine  years  of 
Mr.  Brooks's  connection  with  the  schools,  the  number  of  pupils  in- 
creased from  six  hundred  to  more  than  as  many  thousands,  and  this 
mcrease  was  attributed  by  the  commissioners  and  the  public  mainly 
to  the  establishment  of  the  High  School,  and  the  energetic  man- 
ner in  which  it  was  conducted.  Placed  thus  at  the  head  of 
the  public  education  of  the  city  of  Baltimore,  Mr.  Brooks  spared 
no  labor,  however  great,  and  omitted  no  duty,  however  trifling,  that 
could  in  any  way  contribute  to  the  success  of  the  cause  with 
which  he  was  identified.  From  his  desk  at  the  High  School,  he  made 
himself  felt  throughout  every  school  in  the  city,  and  infused  his  own 
ardent  zeal  into  all  with  whom  he  came  in  contact.  New  life  and 
energy  were  infused  into  the  sy.stem  ;  the  indolent  were  roused  into 
activity ;  the  active  redoubled  their  exertions ;  and  the  extraordi- 
nary success  we  have  just  noticed  was  the  result  of  their  combined 
efforts. 

One  of  the  greatest  difficulties  which  Mr.  Brooks  experienced  was 
the  want  of  suitable  text-books,  especially  in  the  classical  department. 
With  characteristic  energy,  he  at  once  set  to  work  to  supply  this  de- 
ficiency. He  projected  and  partly  carried  into  execution  a  series  of 
classical  school-books,  on  a  new  system.  His  elementar}^  Greek  and 
Latin  Lessons  are  spoken  of  by  teachers  in  terms  of  the  highest  com- 
mendation. In  place  of  the  usual  routine  of  committing  to  memory 
pages  upon  pages  of  unknown  words,  the  pupil,  on  Mr.  Brooks's  system, 
enters  upon  the  dead  as  if  they  were  living  languages,  translates  and 
re-translates  from  the  very  commencement  of  his  course,  and  instead 


170  SKETCHES   OF  EMINENT  AMERICANS. 

of  merely  burdening  the  memory,  gives  exercise  to  the  judgment  and 
scope  to  the  imagination.  It  has  often  been  objected  to  the  study  of 
classical  literature,  that  it  is  of  no  practical  use  in  the  business  of  life. 
Even  if  we  were  to  yield  an  unthinking  assent  to  this  proposition  (.s  so 
many  do),  we  would  not  therefore  admit  the  conclusion,  that  the 
classics  are  not  worth  being  studied.  How  much  of  the  knowledge  ob- 
tained at  school  (always  excepting  the  three  fundamental  studies)  is  of 
any  more  practical  use  than  Greek  and  Latin  ?  Of  what  use  is  geo- 
metry, except  to  one  in  a  thousand  ?  Of  what  use  is  algebra,  except  to 
one  in  ten  thousand  ?  Does  a  tailor  cut  a  coat  any  better  for  knowing 
that  the  three  angles  of  a  triangle  are  equal  to  two  right  angles  i  Of 
what  praciical  use  to  any  of  us  is  the  information  that  Madrid  is  the 
capital  of  Spain,  or  that  the  Duke  of  Wellington  gained  the  battle  of 
Waterloo ']  And  yet  learning  of  this  sort  is  not  repudiated  for  want  of 
practical  usefulness.  But  the  knowledge  that  is  most  useful  to  us  is 
not  that  which  lies  a  dead  weight  upon  the  mind,  until  the  occasion 
comes  (if  it  ever  comes)  when  it  is  wanted  ;  but  that  which  acts  like, 
leaven,  pervading  every  faculty,  and  setting  every  power  to  work. 
There  is  more  of  this  suggestive  influence,  this  operative  power,  in  one 
stanza  of  Horace,  or  one  sentence  of  Demosthenes,  than  in  a  hundred 
propositions  of  Euclid,  and  countless  mineralogical  specimens.  The 
truth  is,  that  this  charge  of  want  of  usefulness  has  been  caused  mainly 
by  the  unpractical  and  unintellectual  manner  in  which  the  classics  have 
long  been  taught.  There  has  been  only  too  much  reason  for  the  com- 
plaint which  Carlyle  makes  in  his  "  Sartor  Resartus"  : — "  My  teachers 
were  hide-bound  pedants,  without  knowledge  of  man's  nature  or  of 
boys' ;  or  of  aught  save  their  lexicons  and  quarterly  account  books. 
Innumerable  dead  vocables  (no  dead  language,  for  they  themselves 
knew  no  language,)  they  crammed  into  us,  and  called  it  fostering  the 
growth  of  mind.  How  can  an  inanimate  mechanical  gerund-grinder, 
(the  like  of  whom  will,  in  a  subsequent  century,  be  manufactured  at 
Nuremberg  out  of  wood  and  leather,)  foster  the  growth  of  any  thing,  much 
more  of  mind,  which  grows  not  like  a  vegetable,  (by  having  its  roots 
littered  with  etymological  compost,)  but  like  a  spirit,  by  mysterious  con- 
tact of  spirit ;  thought  kindling  itself  at  the  living  Are  of  thought  ?  The 
Hinterschlag  professors  knew  of  syntax  enough  ;  and  of  the  human  soul 
thus  much — that  it  had  a  faculty  called  memory,  and  could  be  acted  on 
through  the  muscular  integument  by  application  of  birch-rods." 

Reducing  Memory  to  her  proper  subordinate  rank,  and  omitting  the 
birch-rods  altogether,  Mr.  Brooks  breaks  through  the  old  humdrum 
system  of  "  cramming  with  dead  vocables,"  and  applies  to  the  classics 
the  mode  introduced  by  Manesca,  and  so  successfully  practised  by 
OUendorf,  in  the  modern  languages,  of  making  a  practical  use,  from 
the  very  outset,  of  every  word  and  every  principle  learned.  And  this 
practical  system,  thus  begun,  he  carries  on  to  the  very  end  of  his 
course,  making  a  knowledge  of  the  classics  not  the  end,  but  the  means 
— the  means  of  quickening  the  perceptions,  of  strengthening  the  judg- 
vnent,  of  enlivening  the  imagination,  of  cultivating  the  taste,  of  warm- 
ing the  heart — the  means  of  instilling  a  thousand  useful  lessons  in 
history  and  theology,  in  rhetoric  and  poetry,  in  ethics  and  physics — 
the  means,  above  all,  of  directing  the  student  to  human  nature,  as  (next 


NATHAN    COVINGTON    BROOKS,    OF    MARYLAND.  171 

to  God)  the  great  object  of  study,  the  perennial  fountain  from  which 
all  great  writers  and  all  great  men  have  drunk  deeply — the  great  hill 
of  knowledge,  whose  sides  poets  and  philosophers,  in  all  ages,  are 
employed  in  climbing — whose  base  is  in  the  waters  of  eternity — 
whose  summit  is  enveloped  by  the  clouds  of  heaven. 

Mr.  Brooks's  edition  of  Ovid  is  one  of  the  many  good  school-books 
that  our  country  can  boast.  In  preparing  this  work,  Mr.  Brooks 
brought  to  the  task  what  we  seldom  find  combined,  the  fruit  of  many 
,  years'  extensive  reading,  and  of  as  many  of  patient  teaching.  The 
marks  of  diligent  study,  of  varied  learning,  and  of  a  refined  taste, 
are  visible  in  every  page  of  it.  It  bears  the  impress  alike  of  the  ac- 
curate scholar  and  the  experienced  teacher.  To  a  text  scrupulously 
cleansed  from  all  that  could  ofiend  the  most  delicate  fastidiousness, 
and  embellished  with  pictorial  illustrations  of  considerable  merit,  he 
has  added  a  body  of  explanatory  notes,  which,  for  fulness,  variety, 
and  appropriateness,  will  compare  with  any  similar  work  that  has  of 
late  years  issued  from  the  press,  and  gain  by  the  comparison.  Writers 
of  every  age,  on  every  subject,  and  in  almost  every  language,  have 
been  laid  under  contribution.  Parallel  passages  and  explanatory  quo- 
tations, from  the  writings  of  the  poets,  philosophers,  and  statesmen, 
men  of  science  and  general  literature — from  Aristotle,  Byron,  Cicero, 
Shakspeare,  Virgil,  Moore,  Hesiod,  Tennyson,  iEschylus,  Bacon, 
Sanchoniathus — form  the  brilliant  setting  through  which  shine  the 
polished  gems  of  Ovid.  But  his  great  storehouse  of  illustration  is  the 
Holy  Scriptures  ;  and  it  is  worthy  of  remark  how,  in  all  his  teachings,' 
he  constantly  recurs  to  the  Sacred  Book  as  the  great  source  of  know- 
ledge and  the  great  touchstone  of  truth.  The  whole  field  of  classical 
literature,  valuable  as  he  believes  it  to  be  in  itself,  derives  its  principal 
value  from  its  reflex  action  on  the  mind,  in  connection  with  the  word 
of  God.  In  an  address  delivered  before  the  Philomathean  Society  of 
Pennsylvania  College,  and  published  by  the  society,  Mr.  Brooks  thus 
eloquently  expresses  himself: — 

"  With  a  generous  enthusiasm,  you  have  devoted  your  days  and  your 
nights,  gentlemen,  to  liberal  studies  ;  within  the  precincts  of  yonder 
temple,  sacred  to  wisdom,  you  have  seen  hi  reality  the  fabulous  Pan- 
chaia  of  the  happy  islands,  and,  in  their  works,  have  contemplated  the 
monuments  of  those  consecrated  to  immortality,  reared  by  their  own 
sublime  genius.  You  have  delighted  to  sweep  the  dust  of  ages  from 
the  papyrus,  and  peruse  its  venerable  records  ;  the  relics  of  ancient 
literature,  sanctified  by  the  touch  of  time,  have  enkindled  a  lively  ad- 
miration of  the  beauties  of  Greece,  and  the  colossal  grandeur  of  Rome; 
you  have  investigated  their  polity,  their  laws,  their  religion,  and  from 
the  whole  have  deduced  principles 

'  To  warm  the  genius  and  to  mend  the  heart.' 

You  have  revelled  in  the  riches  of  classic  lore,  and  you  have  done 
well.  But  there  is  another  classic  which  I  feel  bound  to  commend 
to  you,  equally  ancient  in  origin  and  interesting  in  narrative  .;  equally 
chaste  in  style,  and  more  sublime  in  its  records,  its  philosophy,  and 
its  precepts — the  Scriptures  of  the  Old  and  New  Testament. 

"  In  this  volume  you  have  a  pleasant  picture  of  the  simplicity  of  the 


172  SKETCHES    OF    EMINENT    AMERICANS. 

early  ages,  in  all  the  flowing  vivacity  of  Herodotus,  without  his  fables 
you  have  the  exhibition  of  man  in  his  political  connections  and  com- 
motions— the  spread  of  empire  and  the  desolations  of  war — the 
achievements  of  men  and  the  miracles  of  God — described  with  all 
the  force  and  atticism  of  Thucydides,  and  the  graces  of  Xenophon  ; 
you  have  a  morality  exactly  suited  to  the  nature  and  destiny  of  man, 
more  elevated  than  ever  came  from  the  portico  or  academy — a  system 
of  laws  and  religion  that  far  transcends  the  dreams  of  ancient  sages — 
promulo-ated  by  him  to  whom  power,  and  dominion,  and  adoration  be- 
long  every  variety  of  composition,  characterized  by  all  the  sublimi- 
ties and  beauties  of  style,  of  passion,  of  sentiment,  and  of  action — 
the  visions  of  the  seer,  the  denunciations  of  the  prophet,  the  teachings 
of  the  sa^e,  the  inspirations  of  the  psalmist,  the  records  of  the  evan- 
gelist, and  the  triumphs  of  the  martyr — tending  to  inform  the  mind, 
move  the  sensibilities,  refine  the  taste,  and,  above  all,  purify  the  heart, 
fit  it  for  the  discharge  of  the  duties  of  life,  and  for  the  destinies  of 
another  and  a  better  world.  This  classic,  above  all  others,  I  would 
commend  to  you. 

"  What  are  the  thousand  deities  of  Greece  and  Rome,  compared 
with  the  one  living  and  true  God  which  it  reveals  ?  Will  the  sacred 
pile  of  the  Acropolis  vie  with  that  which  surmounted  the  summit  of 
Moriah  ;  or  the  golden  Diana  of  Ephesus,  or  the  marble  statue  of  the 
Parthenon,  with  the  visible  glory  of  the  invisible  God  ?  Does  the  tri- 
pod of  Apollo  equal  the  Urim  and  Thummim  ?  Do  the  flamens 
divine,  like  the  prophets  of  Jehovah  ?  Do  the  elements  obey  the  wand 
of  the  augurs,  as  they  do  the  staff  of  Moses  ?  Is  the  expedition  of 
the  Argonauts  more  full  of  stirring  incidents  than  the  Exodus  ?  The 
fall  of  Troy  more  mournful  than  the  desolation  of  Salem  ?  Or  the 
wanderings  of  iEneas,  or  the  king  of  Ithaca,  more  pathetic  than  the 
scattering  of  the  sons  of  Jacob  to  the  ends  of  the  earth  ? 

"  You  will  be  told  by  some  that  the  Greek  of  the  Old  and  New 
Testament  is  barbarous.  Believe  it  not.  That  it  abounds  in  imper- 
fections and  errors  of  style.  It  is  not  the  fact.  Its  peculiarities,  even 
those  that  are  condemned  by  the  captious,  its  transitions,  changes  and 
irregularities  will  be  found,  by  the  true  scholar,  to  be  parallel  with 
those  of  the  most  refined  Grecian  authors.  You  who  have  drunk  of 
the  waters  of  Helicon  will  not  find  those  of  '  Siloa's  brook,  that  flows 
fast  by  the  Oracle  of  God,'  less  invigorating  ;  nor  the  dews  of  Hermou 
less  sweet  than  those  of  the  Aonian  Aganippe.  You  who  have  listened 
to  the  ravings  of  the  Sybil  and  the  wild  frenzy  of  the  Pythoness,  will 
rejoice  to  hear  the  seers  of  old,  as  they  wildly  swept  the  harp  to  the 
oracles  of  God.  If  commiseration  of  the  unhappy  exile  has  been 
awakened  in  your  breast  by  the  plaint  of  Meliboeus, 

'  Nos  patriae  fines,  et  dulcia  linquimus  arva 
Nos  patriam  fugimus,' 

your  feelings  will  be  more  excited  at  the  lament  of  the  daughters  of 
Zion,  as  they  sit  in  sorrow  by  the  waters  of  Babylon  ;  or  at  the  capti- 
vity of  the  young  king  of  Israel — '  Weep  not  for  the  dead,  but  for  him 
that  goeth  away  from  his  country,  for  he  shall  return  no  more.'  If  you 
liave  been  pleased  with  the  Doric  reed  of  Theocritus  and  the  mellow 


NATHAN    COVINGTON    BROOKS,    OF    MARYLAND.  173 

flute  of  Virgil,  you  cannot  fail  to  enjoy  the  fervent  yet  delicate  pastoral 
of  Solomon.  If  you  have  admired  the  Epigrams  of  Martial,  the 
Golden  Sentences  of  Pythagoras,  j'ou  will  relish  still  more  the  pre- 
cepts of  Ecclesiastes  and  the  Proverbs.  If  the  elegiac  strains  of  Ti- 
bullus  and  Ovid  have  excited  tender  sentiments  of  sorrow,  your  heart 
will  be  melted  at  the  sorrows  of  the  Saviour  over  Salem,  the  Lamen- 
tations of  Jeremiah,  and  the  threnetic  plaint  of  Hosea. 

"  If  you  have  admired  the  social  feelings  of  Scipio  and  Laelius,  you 
will  find  a  parallel  in  the  fraternal  affection  of  David  and  Jonathan  ; 
and  will  see  friendship  and  grief  sanctified  by  the  Saviour,  as  he  weeps 
at  the  grave  of  Lazarus.  If  you  have  been  moved  at  the  lament  of 
Agamemnon  over  his  wounded  brother,  the  sympathies  of  the  inmost 
soul  will  be  stirred  at  the  passionate  grief  of  David  for  the  slain  upon 
the  mountains  of  Gilboa.  Acquainted  with  the  beauties  of  the  wan- 
derings of  the  king  of  Ithaca,  you  will  relish  the  more  the  sublimities 
of  the  wanderings  of  the  Israelites.  Moved  at  the  manner  of  the 
discovery  of  Ulysses,  the  waters  of  the  soul  will  be  stirred,  when 
Joseph  makes  himself  known  to  his  brethren.  Struck  with  pathetic 
interest  at  the  sacrifice  of  Iphigenia,  your  emotions  will  be  stronger 
as  you  stand  with  Abraham  and  Isaac,  upon  the  mount  of  Moriah. 
Familiar  with  the  histories  of  Clelia  and  Penthesilea,  you  will  appre- 
ciate the  daring  of  Jael,  and  the  valor  of  Judith,  as  she  unsheaths  the 
sword  of  slaughter  in  the  tent  of  Holofernes.  Beholding  the  gran- 
deur of  the  eagle,  as  he  bears  the  bolt  of  destruction  to  the  throne  of 
Jove,  you  will  contemplate  the  purity  of  the  dove,  carrying  to  the  ark 
the  bough  of  mercy ;  or,  on  the  shores  of  Jordan,  bringing  down  the 
spirit  of  the  Deity  to  sustain  the  soul  of  man  amid  the  sorrows  of  a 
ruined  world.  Pleased  with  the  maternal  solicitude  of  Cornelia,  in 
rearing  the  Gracchi  to  be  'jewels'  of  pride,  you  will  applaud  the 
nobler  ambition  of  the  mother  of  Samuel,  in  seeking  to  make  him  a 
jewel  w^orthy  of  the  signet  of  the  Lord.  Impressed  with  sentiments  of 
moral  elevation  at  the  devotion  of  Codrus  and  Marcus  Curtius,  for  the 
good  of  their  country,  you  will  be  filled  with  wonder  and  love  at  the 
condescension  of  the  incarnate  God,  as  he  gives  himself  up  a  sacri- 
fice for  sin,  upon  the  summit  of  Calvary,  amid  the  tremblings  of  the 
earth  and  the  astonishment  of  heaven  ;  and,  touched  with  the  serenity 
and  meekness  of  the  dying  Socrates,  as  he  cheers  his  sorrowing 
friends,  you  will  be  dissolved  in  grief,  and  love,  and  admiration,  as  the 
expiring  Saviour  consoles  the  weeping  daughters  of  Jerusalem  and 
prays  for  his  enemies. 

"  Admirers  of  the  beautiful  allegories  of  the  Greeks,  you  will  have 
a  double  relish  for  those  of  Ecclesiastes  and  other  Hebrew  writers. 
Familiar  with  the  sublime  beauties  of  the  tragic  muse  in  iEschylus, 
Sophocles  and  Euripides,  you  will  find  in  the  Book  of  Job  a  drama, 
the  oldest  in  the  world,  and  although  irregular,  equal  in  elevation  to  any 
that  has  ever  been  produced  ;  and,  fired  with  enthusiasm  by  the  com- 
positions of  Pindar  and  Horace,  you  will  be  able  to  give  its  proper 
estimation  to  the  ode  of  Deborah,  and  that  grand  lyric  of  Isaiah,  rela- 
tive to  the  king  of  Babylon,  from  which  Lord  Byron  drew  the  sublime 
images  of  his  Ode  to  Napoleon.  Impressed  with  the  beauty  of  the 
hymns  of  Callimachus,  Orpheus,  and  Cleanthes,  your  heart  will  go  out 


174  SKETCHES  OF   EMINENT  AMERICANS. 

to  God  in  devotional  fervor,  in  reading  the  song  of  Moses  and  Miriam, 
and  the  psahns  of  the  Shepherd  King.  Yersant  with  the  Natural 
History  of  Pliny  and  Aristotle,  and  appreciating  their  beauties  of  lan- 
guage, you  will  admire  the  striking  descriptions  to  be  met  with  in  the 

Book  of  Job. 

******** 

"  Such  are  a  iew  of  the  beauties  of  the  Bible ;  and,  if  its  grand  truths 
be  found  to  rob  poetry  and  mythology  of  some  of  their  ethereal  fancies, 
it  substitutes  nobler  truths,  and  sentiments  equally  chaste.  If  it  has 
displaced  cloud-compelling  Jove  from  Olympus,  it  has  placed  the  hea- 
vens under  the  care  of  him  who  '  weigheth  them  in  his  balanee,'  and 
'  directeth  his  thunder  under  the  whole  heavens,  and  his  lightning  to 
the  ends  of  the  earth.'  If  Aurora  no  longer  opens  the  door  of  the 
east,  her  office  is  performed  by  him  '  who  causeth  tho  day-spring  to 
know  his  place.'  If  the  chariot  of  the  sun  be  no  longer  under  the 
care  of  Apollo,  it  is  guided  by  him  '  v  ho  hath  set  a  tabernacle  for  the 
sun.'  If  Diana  has  forgotten  to  lead  her  circlet  in  the  heavens,  it  re- 
volves at  the  bidding  of  him  '  who  hath  appointed  the  moon  her 
seasons.'  If  the  sceptre  of  ^olus  is  broken,  the  winds  are  under 
the  direction  of  him  '  who  guides  the  whirlwind  and  propels  the 
storm,' — '  who  maketh  the  clouds  his  chariot,  and  walketh  upon  the 
wings  of  the  wind.'  If  the  trident  of  Neptune  no  longer  sways  the 
sea,  its  billows  heave  beneath  the  eye  of  him  who  hath  said  to  the 
deep,  '  Thus  far  shalt  thou  come,  but  no  further  ;  and  here  shall  thy 
proud  waves  be  stayed.'  If  Ceres  has  deserted  the  fields,  they  are 
under  the  care  of  him  who  has  promised  that  '  seed-time  and  harvest 
shall  succeed  each  other,'  to  the  end  of  time.  If  the  vintage  has 
ceased  to  ripen  for  Bacchus,  it  abounds  for  him,  who  '  causeth  wine,  to 
make  glad  the  heart  of  man.'  If  Nemesis  no  longer  bears  the  bal- 
ances of  the  earth,  they  are  transferred  to  him,  '  the  habitation  of 
whose  throne  is  justice  and  judgment.'  If  the  Dryads  have  forsaken 
the  groves,  and  the  Naiads  the  streams,  the  voice  of  Deity  is  speaking 
to  the  heart  in  the  whisper  of  every  tree,  and  the  murmur  of  every 
fountain.  If  the  Muses  that  presided  over  the  spheres  have  aban- 
doned the  object  of  their  tutelar  regard,  they  are  still  propelled  by  the 
hand  that  rounded  them,  and  peal  out  the  hymn  in  which  they  united 
when  the  '  morning  stars  sang  together,  and  all  the  sons  of  God  shouted 
for  joy.'  If  Iris  has  ceased  to  be  the  messenger  of  the  wrath  of 
Juno,  it  has  become  the  covenant  of  the  mercy  of  Jehovah.  If  Pluto 
has  resigned  the  guardianship  of  Hades,  it  is  to  him  who  '  holds  the 
keys  of  hell  and  death  ;'  and  if  the  Lares  and  Penates  have  aban- 
doned the  threshold  and  hearthstone,  their  place  is  supplied  by  him 
v/ho  hath  promised  to  make  the  habitation  of  the  righteous  his  abode, 
and  to  dwell  in  the  heart  of  the  humble.  If  all  the  deities  have  van- 
ished before  the  light  of  truth  and  revelation,  The  Lord  God  Omni- 
potent reigneth." 

In  the  year  1848,  Mr.  Brooks  was  requested  to  assume  the  organ- 
ization of  the  Baltimore  Female  College.  His  high  reputation  as  a 
scholar ;  his  distinguished  success  as  a  teacher  ,  his  great  experience 
in  the  management  of  educational  establishments  ;  his  numerous  con- 
nections and  friends ;  his  winning  address  and  conciliatory  manners, 


NATHAN    COVINGTON   BROOKS,  OF  MARYLAND.  175 

qualified  him  in  an  eminent  degree  for  establishing  and  sustaining  the 
contemplated  college.     It  was  with   much  pain   that  he   sundered  the 
ties  that   for  nine  years  had   bound  him  to  the  High  School,  and  the 
public  school  system  of  Baltimore,  with  whose  success  he  had  become 
identified,  and  in  which  his  whole  heart  had  been  wrapped  up  ;  but  the 
urgent  advice  of  his  friends   and  the  prospect  of  still  more  extended 
usefulness  decided  his  course.     It  is  hardly  possible,  indeed,  to  over- 
estimate the  importance  of  female  education.     If  men  are  the  masters, 
women  are  the  rulers  of  the  world,  and  their  noiseless  influence  is  all 
the  more  deeply  felt  that  its  source  is  often  studiously  concealed.  Wo- 
man is  the  barometer  of  the  social  atmosphere.     If  you  Avant  to  make 
inquisition  into  a  man's  character,  learn  how  he  treats  his  wife  and  his 
sister.    If  you  ^v^ant  to  know  the  social  condition  of  a  nation,  inquire  into 
the  position  of  the  women.     Raise  woman  in  the  social  scale,  and  you 
draw  man  up  along  with  her  — degrade  her,  and  he  sinks  even  lower.  In 
any  community,  if  the  women  are  loose  in  their  morals,  the  men  are  profli- 
gate :   if  the  women  are  virtuous  and  refined,  the  men   are  moral  and 
intelligent.     A  well-educated  mother  cannot  bring  up  her  sons  in  igno- 
rance ;  a  polite  and  refined  sister  is  rarely  associated  with  rough,  un- 
cultivated brothers. 

With  a  sense  of  the  vast  importance  and  heavy  responsibility  of  the  task, 
Mr.  Brooks  accepted  the  proposal.  That  which  was  in  1848  a  doubtful  . 
project,  is  now  a  successful  enterprise — an  established  fact.  The  college 
now  numbers  upwards  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  students,  of  whom  nearly 
fifty  reside  in  the  institution — almost  every  State  sending  its  represen- 
tatives. It  is  chartered  by  the  legislature,  possesses  (and  exercises) 
authority  to  confer  degrees,  and  resembles,  in  its  course  of  instruction 
and  general  arrangements,  colleges  for  the  other  sex.  The  writer  had 
the  pleasure  of  attending  the  examination  previous  to  the  end  of  the 
last  session,  and  can  scarcely  describe  the  gratification  he  experien- 
ced at  hearing  fair  lips  warble  out  the  melodious  stanzas  of  Horace,  or 
his  surprise  at  hearing  them  pronounce  without  faltering,  and  translate 
without  hesitation,  the  majestic  lines  of  old  Homer.  Rarely  has  it  been 
his  pleasure  to  witness  equal  proficiency  among  those  of  his  own  sex 
under  similar  circumstances. 

To  see  Mr.  Brooks  in  his  element,  you  must  see  him  in  the  midst 
of  his  class.  There  the  studious  brow  unfolds  its  furrows,  the  thought- 
ful eye  sparkles,  the  compressed  lips  expand.  Every  eye  is  upon 
him — every  ear  opens.  The  dull  yields  to  his  patience,  the  quick  re- 
sponds to  his  vivacity,  the  wayward  bends  beneath  his  firmness,  and 
the  proud  submits  to  his  aflTection.  He  has  words  of  approbation  for 
the  deserving,  of  encouragement  for  the  persevering,  of  incitement  for 
the  indolent,  of  warning  for  the  froward.  There  is  no  Procrustean  bed, 
on  which  the  girl  of  genius  is  shortened,  and  the  one  of  moderate  abili- 
ties stretched  out  to  the  standard  length.  Each  is  permitted  to  ex- 
pand as  nature  has  given  the  ability.  Like  a  fond  parent,  he  weighs 
the  disposition  and  measures  the  capacity  of  each  ;  and  distributes  to 
each  as  she  may  be  able  to  receive. 

Has  the  reader  ever  considered  the  difficulty  of  a  teacher's  task,  and 
the  immense  service  which  he  renders  to  the  community  ?  Or  does 
he  look  upon  the  teacher  as  an  engine-driver,  and  a  school  or  college 


176  SKETCHES    OF    EMINENT    AMERICANS. 

as  a  sort  of  literary  mill,  where  students  are  ground  to  order,  and  with 
which  the  teacher  has  nothing  to  do  but  get  the  steam  up,  and  turn  it 
on  or  ofl'  as  the  case  may  require  '?  Education  in  its  highest  and  no- 
blest sense  will  never  be  disseminated,  till  the  public  knows  more 
about  what  a  teacher  ought  to  be  ;  "  till  the  hodman  is  discharged  or 
reduced  to  hod-bearing,  and  an  architect  is  hired  and  on  all  hands 
fitly  encouraged ;  till  communities  and  individuals  discover,  not  with- 
out surprise,  that  fashioning  the  souls  of  a  generation  by  knowledge 
can  rank  on  a  level  with  blowing  their  bodies  to  pieces  with  gunpow- 
der ;  that  with  generals  and  field-marshals  for  killing,  there  should  be 
world-honored  dignitaries,  and  were  it  possible,  true  God-ordained 
priests  for  teaching." 

Mr.  Brooks  is  another  example  of  the  utility  of  early  marriages.  In 
his  twentieth  year  he  was  married  to  Miss  Mary  E.  Gooright,  a  young 
lady  of  Baltimore,  whose  great  personal  beauty  and  moral  excellence  had 
captivated  his  affections.  Eight  children,  all  living,  are  the  fruits  of 
this  union,  founded  upon  reciprocal  respect  and  affection.  In  such 
circumstances,  the  marriage  relation  has  a  natural  tendency  to  promote 
the  growth  of  the  mind,  and  the  development  of  the  better  feelings  of 
the  heart,  before  it  is  chilled  by  contact  with  the  world.  The  gene- 
rous thought  that  he  is  laboring  for  others  is  to  the  young  husband  and 
father  a  great  incentive  to  action,  not  only  in  the  daily  struggles  of  life 
for  bread,  but  in  the  nobler  contest  for  the  meed  of  fame  ;  and  by  sac- 
rificing all  selfish  feelings  upon  the  altar  of  affection  at  home,  he  is 
prepared  to  become  the  generous  friend,  the  public-spirited  citizen, 
the  general  philanthropist.  Such  has  been  the  effect  of  his  early 
marriage  upon  the  subject  of  our  memoir. 

Provision  for  the  support  of  a  numerous  family  has  not  prevented  Mr. 
Brooks  from  indulging  his  literary  tastes,  but  has  stimulated  him  to 
greater  effort.  He  has  been  "  in  labors  abundant."  Besides  discharg- 
ing the  duties  of  his  profession,  he  has  produced  almost  as  many 
volumes  as  any  of  our  writers  whose  time  has  been  devoted  to  litera- 
ture alone.  Happy  in  the  affections  of  a  devoted  wife,  and  a  family 
of  interesting  children,  loved  and  respected  by  his  pupils,  his  heart  is 
the  seat  of  all  that  is  amiable  and  tender,  and  diffuses  abroad  the  light 
and  the  heat  that  dwell  within.  Long  may  he  live  to  be  the  centre  of 
the  social  circle,  the  pride  of  his  friends,  and  an  honor  to  the  profes- 
sion of  which  he  has  been  so  useful  a  member. 


N^ 


JOEL  CRAWFORD,  OF  GEORGIA,  177 

JOEL  CRAWFORD, 

OF  EARLY  COUNTY,  GEORGIA. 

About  the  commencement  of  the  eighteenth  century,  David  Craw- 
ford, a  Scotchman  of  respectability,  disgusted  with  the  arbitrary  admi- 
nistration of  the  British  government  at  home,  migrated  with  the  only 
surviving  members  of  his  family,  two  minor  sons,  to  the  then  province 
of  Virginia.  He  established  himself  as  a  farmer,  in  the  county  of 
Hanover,  within  thirty  miles  of  Richmond,  where  he  passed  the  resi 
due  of  life,  and  whence  a  numerous  progeny  has  since  spread  into 
more  than  half  a  dozen  States  of  this  confederacy.  Charles,  one  of 
his  lineal  descendants,  was  born  in  Hanover,  but,  in  boyhood,  removed 
with  his  father's  family  to  the  mountains  of  Amherai^ County,  and  sub- 
sequently, in  mature  manhood,  probably  about  the  year  1770,  to  the 
sparsely  settled  province  of  Georgia.  He  purchased  a  tract  of  fertile 
land  in  the  county  of  Richmond,  ten  or  fifteen  miles  west  of  Augusta, 
on  which  he  resided,  engaged  in  the  business  of  agriculture,  until  the 
fall  of  1813,  the  time  of  his  death.  On  this  estate,  his  youngest  son, 
Joel  CraAvford,  the  subject  of  this  notice,  was  born  a  few  months  after 
public  proclamation  had  announced  the  acknowledgment  of  American 
independence — an  event  in  which  the  father  had  taken  the  deepest 
interest,  and  spared  no  pains  to  accomplish.  Witli  an  hereditaiy  hatred 
of  British  rule,  Charles  Crawford  was  among  ihe  first  to  denounce  its 
oppressions,  and  by  all  means  in  his  power  to  advance  the  cause  of 
the  revolution.  As  a  member  of  the  provincial  legislature,  and  a  sol- 
dier on  the  field  of  battle,  he  assumed  the  highest  responsibilities,  and 
never  ceased  to  war  against  the  foreign  enemy  and  his  tory  allies, 
until  they  were  fairly  vanquished,  and  the  whigs  had  become  masters 
of  the  country. 

The  entire  population  of  Georgia  was  at  that  time  very  inconsider- 
able— in  fact,  the  province  consisted  of  a  string  of  settlements,  some 
forty  or  fifty  miles  long  on  the  Atlantic  seaboard,  and  up  the  Savannah 
river  about  the  same  distance  above  Augusta.  Like  the  primitive 
settlers  of  most  new  countries,  the  inhabitants  were  rude,  and,  in  some 
sections,  more  than  half  were  tories — many  of  the  worst  stamp.  The 
whigs  were  generally  distinguished  by  superior  intelligence,  humanity, 
and  valor,  among  whom  the  names  of  Macintosh,  Habersham,  Elbert, 
Jackson,  Baker,  Few,  Twiggs  and  others,  the  companions  of  Charles 
Crawford,  have  been  given  to  history. 

For  ten  or  twelve  years  after  the  close  of  the  revolutionary  war,  the 
country  did  not  afford  schools  for  the  education  of  children,  and  those 
to  which  Joel  Crawford  was  first  sent  were  of  the  poorest  class  ;  out 
of  the  towns  of  Savannah  and  Augusta,  there  was  scarcely  a  respect- 
able school  in  the  State.  Subsequently,  however,  he  had  the  advan- 
tages of  instruction,  at  an  institution  over  which  Dr.  Bush*  presided, — ■ 

*  Dr.  Bush,  and  the  venerable  Abram  Baldwin,  the  man  whom  the  people  of 
Georgia  so  long  delighted  to  honor,  who  died  their  senator  in  the  Congress  of  the 

12 


1T8  SKETCHES  OF   EMINENT  AMERICANS. 

a  gentleman  not  less  distinguished  for  profound  scholarship  than  purity 
and  elevation  of  character,  who  had  migrated,  for  the  benefit  of  a  mild 
climate,  from  Connecticut  to  Columbia  County,  in  the  State  of  Georgia, 
where  he  continued  to  reside  till  near  the  close  of  a  long  and  useful 
life. 

Having  made  attainments  in  the  Roman  and  Greek  languages,  ele- 
mentary mathematics,  and  natural  philosophy,  young  Crawford  deter- 
mined on  the  profession  of  law,  and  commenced  its  study  in  the  office 
of  Nicholas  Ware,  Esq.,  at  Augusta.  After  devoting  eighteen  months 
to  the  reading  of  elementary  works,  and  the  practical  duties  of  the 
office,  he  repaired  to  Litchfield,  in  Connecticut,  and  took  the  benefit 
of  a  course  of  lectures,  delivered  by  Judge  Reeve  and  James  Gould, 
Esq.,  both  gentlemen  of  great  professional  eminence,  whose  law 
school  was  at  that  time  the  most  famed  in  the  United  States.  Re- 
turning to  Georgia,  he,  in  the  spring  of  1808,  passed  the  usual  exami- 
nation at  the  Supreme  Court  of  Wilkes  County,  obtained  a  license,  and 
commenced  practice  in  the  village  of  Sparta,  whence,  however,  he 
removed  in  the  fall  of  1811,  and  opened  an  office  at  Milledgeville,  the 
seat  of  the  State  government,  where  he  continued  to  reside  till  the 
termination  of  his  professional  labors. 

The  war  declared  against  Great  Britain  in  June,  1812,  gave  quite 
an  episodic  turn  to  the  pursuits  of  our  young  lawyer.  Few  themes 
have  drawn  forth  niore  vividly  descriptive  passages  in  poetry  or  his- 
tory than  the  calamities  of  war — calamities  which  have  imdeniably, 
in  all  ages  of  the  world,  involved  thousands  of  the  human  race  in  the 
heaviest  suffering.  Yet,  with  all  its  horrors,  even  a  peaceful  and 
benevolent  people  may,  \inder  a  deep  sense  of  injury  and  insult,  regard 
it  as  a  boon  greatly  to  b^  coveted.  The  continued  aggressions  of 
Great  Britain,  in  the  impre<isment  and  transfer  of  American  seamen 
from  their  own  vessels  to  those  of  the  British  navy,  her  pestiferous 
"  Orders  in  Council,"  the  infamous  affair  of  the  Chesapeake  and  Leo- 
pard frigates,  and  her  iniquitous  pretensions  to  marine  dominance, 
kindled  up  a  flame  of  hostility  throughout  the  confederacy  ;  but  it  no 
where    burned  with    more    ardor    than   in   the    Southern    States.      In 

United  States,  were  warmly  attached  friends.  It  Kas  been  said  that  they  were 
college  mates  as  well  as  companions  in  arms  during  the  revolutionary  war. 

In  the  History  of  General  Putnam's  Lile,  Cilonel  David  Humphreys,  the  author, 
in  a  long  note  to  one  of  his  paires.  ascribes  the  invention  of  a  formidable  submarine 
battery  to  "  Captain  David  Buslini-li,  of  Saybrook,  Connecticut,  wh )  commanded 
a  c  irps  of  sappers  and  miners  in  the  revolutionary  army."  There  is  but  httle 
ground  to  doubt  that  this  Captain  Bushnell  was  the  same  person  who  afterwards 
became,  under  an  altered  name,  so  eminent  as  an  instructor  of  youth.  His  last 
will  and  testament  admits  the  fact  of  his  having  dropped  the  final  syllable  of  his 
family  name,  but  the  reasons  for  doing  so  have  never  been  explained. 

Tbe  attempt  made  by  Captain  Bushnell  to  destroy  the  British  fleet  then  lying  in 
the  Delaware,  by  some  accident  miscarried  ;  but  the  enginery,  as  it  descended  by 
the  current  of  the  river,  is  stated  to  have  come  in  contact  with  the  hulk  of  a  large 
merchant  vessel,  ;ind  to  have  given  such  fearful  demon.'5trations  of  destructive 
power,  as  to  throw  the  fleet  into  great  consternation,  and  to  hasten  its  departure 
to  a  place  of  safer  anchorage.  The  panic  given  to  both  the  British  fleet  and  army 
by  this  unaccountable  destruction  of  the  hulk,  is  humorously  described  by  Francis 
Hopkinson,  Esq.,  of  Philadelphia,  in  a  short  poem  entitled  "  The  Battle  of  the 
Kegs." 


JOEL  CRAWFORD,  OF  GEORGIA.  179 

many  parts  of  Georgia  there  was  scarcely  a  discrepant  sentiment ;  all 
classes  demanded  vengeance,  and  among  her  entire  population,  few, 
if  any,  more  earnestly  desired  a  national  conflict  than  the  subject  of 
this  brief  memoir.  When,  therefore,  levies  were  called  for,  he  was 
among  the  first  to  vohmteer  his  services  as  a  soldier.  He  marched 
from  home  a  subaltern  officer,  in  a  corps  of  dragoons,  commanded  by 
Captain  Steele,  but  was  soon  brevetted  aide-de-camp  to  the  com- 
mander-in-chief. General  John  Floyd,  a  position  which  he  retained  till 
the  end  of  the  campaign.  The  writer  of  this  article  never  knew  a 
more  intrepid  soldier  ;  but  the  distinguishing  element  of  Floyd's  char- 
acter was  a  genuine  devotion  to  the  interests  and  honor  of  his  coun- 
try ;  patriotism  was  the  master  passion  of  his  noble  heart.  Under 
the  command  of  this  accomplished  officer,  a  gallant  army  of  three 
thousand  six  hundred  men,  chiefly  volunteers,  detailed  from  the  body 
of  the  Georgia  Militia,  was  ordered  to  invade  the  country  of  the  Mus- 
cogee and  Creek  Indians,  a  numerous  and  warlike  nation  of  savages, 
and  the  faithful  allies  of  Britain.  This  brevet  conferred  on  Lieutenant 
Crawford  the  rank  and  title  of  major,  besides  assigning  to  him  a  post 
— full  of  responsibility,  indeed — but  most  acceptable  to  one  of  his  zeal 
and  activity.  So  soon  as  a  very  moderate  supply  of  provisions  and 
transportation  was  furnished.  General  Floyd  marched  into  the  heart 
of  the  Creek  country,  now  the  State  of  Alabama,  and  during  the  winter 
of  1813,  '14,  had  repeated,  and,  in  every  instance,  successiul  collisions 
with  the  enemy,  two  of  which  only  will  be  mentioned,  as  they  are 
given  in  the  annals  of  the  war.  The  first  took  place  at  the  old  and 
strong  town  of  Autossee,  situated  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Tallapoosa 
river,  some  thirty  miles  above  its  confluence  with  the  Coosa  ;  the 
second,  in  the  vicinity  of  a  large  tributary  of  the  Tallapoosa,  called  by 
the  Indians,  Cauleebee.  In  each  of  these  battles.  Major  Crawford 
bore  an  active  part  ;  in  each  he  had  a  horse  shot  under  him.  It  was 
his  purpose  to  continue  in  the  army  to  tlie  end  of  the  war,  but  in  this 
he  was  disappointed.  His  warm  personal  friend  and  gallant  com- 
mander. General  Floyd,  was  more  fortunate,  and  the  restoration  of 
peace  found  him  in  Savannah  in  command  of  an  army  charged  with 
the  defence  of  the  maritime  frontiers  of  Georgia. 

Major  Crawford  was  twice  elected  to  represent  the  people  of  his 
native  State  in  Congress,  and  declined  a  third  canvass  for  the  purpose 
of  resuming  his  practice  at  the  bar,  the  profits  of  which  had  become 
especially  acceptable  to  one  who  had  spent  so  much  time  in  the  un- 
thrifty vocaticms  of  public  life. 

In  the  spring  of  1825  he  married,  and  not  long  thereafter,  finally  re- 
linquished the  practice  of  law,  for  which  he  never  had  much  predilec- 
tion, and  which  became  more  irksome  as  his  business  increased.  The 
judiciary  department  of^Georgia,  at  that  time  and  for  many  years  after, 
was  without  a  Supreme  Court,  and  the  circuit  judges,  consequently, 
without  those  aids  and  responsibilities  so  demonstrably  necessary  to  a 
faithful  and  just  administration  of  the  law.  Decisions  made  amid 
the  numerous  interruptions  and  hurry  unavoidably  incident  to  jury 
trials,  could  not  fail  to  be  contradictory,  and,  as  they  frequently  were, 
wholly  unwarranted  by  authority.  There  being  no  higher  tribunal  to 
which  an  appeal  could  be  taken  for  the   correction  of  errors,  the  per- 


180  SKETCHES  OF   EMINENT  AMERICANS, 

plexed  and  disappointed  counsel  found  his  professional  learning  of  but 
little  use,  and  was  fain  to  seek  relief  in  less  precarious  pursuits.  In 
this  State  there  has  been  at  all  limes,  and  among  almost  all  classes,  a 
propensity  to  agriculture,  much  stronger  than  the  profits  of  farming 
would  warrant.  It  seems  to  have  had  attractions  for  the  subject  of 
this  memoir,  who  has  for  the  last  thirty  years  relied  on  it  for  the  prin- 
cipal part  of  his  annual  income.  Though  his  chief  occupation  has  been 
that  of  a  planter  ;  he  has  repeatedly  represented  his  county  in  the  Ge- 
neral Assembly  of  the  State  ;  and  as  often  accepted  important  agencies 
in  the  public  service,  of  a  ministerial  or  business  character.  One  of 
these  agencies  was  tendered  to  him  in  the  summer  of  1820,  by  Gover- 
nor Troup,  who  had  concerted  preliminary  arrangements  with  Mr. 
Murphy,  the  Governor  of  Alabama,  to  trace  and  mark  the  boundary  line 
between  the  two  States.  His  colleagues  in  this  difficult  and  exposed 
service  were  Edward  Hamilton  and  Richard  A.  Blount,  Esqrs. 

By  certain  articles  of  cession,  bearing  date  in  1802,  the  State  of 
Georgia  transferred  to  the  United  States,  for  the  benefit  of  the  whole 
confederacy,  all  that  territory  out  of  which  the  two  States  of  Missis- 
sippi and  Alabama  have  since  been  carved.  These  articles,  of  course, 
prescribed  the  line  which  was  to  separate  the  ceded  territory  from  that 
which  was  retained  by  Georgia;  but  it  had  never  been  traced,  and 
through  an  indefinite  length  of  nearly  two  himdred  miles,  its  precise 
locality  was  unknown.  This  was  to  be  ascertained  by  commissioners 
sent  from  the  two  States  ;  and  as  it  lay  through  the  heart  of  the  Creek 
and  Cherokee  nations,  then  a  wilderness  country,  the  work  involved 
many  and  serious  difficulties,  not  a  little  augmented  by  the  known  hos- 
tility with  which  these  savage  tribes  regarded  it — to  which  may  be 
added,  the  persevering  refusal  of  Alabama  to  concur  in  what  Georgia 
felt  bound  to  insist  on  as  the  true  construction  of  the  compact  in  1802. 
Apparently  the  two  States  were  equally  interested  in  the  establishment 
of  this  boundary  ;  but  it  is  at  least  doubtful  whether  the  commissioners 
on  the  part  of  Alabama  acted  on  that  assumption.  They  were  tardy 
in  getting  to  the  place  of  rendezvous,  and  came  wholly  improvided  with 
surveyors,  laborers,  camp  equipage,  or  any  other  preparation  for  the 
work  assigned  them  ;  justifying  the  inference  that  they  were  insti- 
gated by  some  adverse,  though  unavowed  considerations  of  state  or 
personal  policy,  which  those  on  the  part  of  Georgia  felt  themselves  un- 
der no  obligations  to  investigate  or  to  respect. 

After  a  protracted  discussion  of  the  several  points  at  issue,  and  giv- 
ing up  all  hope  of  agreement,  the  commissioners  on  the  part  of  Georgia, 
who  were  amply  provided  with  artists,  men  and  means  of  all  sorts,  no- 
tified those  of  Alabama  that  further  debate  was  deemed  useless,  and 
that  the  demarkation  of  the  boundary  would  be  commenced  the  follow- 
ing morning.  The  gentlemen  of  Alabama  were  at  the  same  time  in- 
vited to  accompany  the  party  in  the  service  of  Georgia.  This  they 
declined,  and  soon  left  the  neighborhood — the  line,  however,  from  one 
end  to  the  other,  was  traced  and  well  marked,  under  the  direction  of 
the  Georgia  commissioners — assuming  a  responsibility  in  the  transac- 
tion which  could  not  have  been  justified  by  any  thing  less  than  a 
strong  conviction  that  they  were  doing  exact  justice,  and  a  useful 
service  to  both  States.     The  government  of  Alabama  afterwards  re- 


JOEL    CRAWFORD,  OF    GEORGIA,  181 

monstrated  against  the  imputed  inaccuracy  of  the  dfmarkation,  and 
promptly  received  for  answer,  that  Georgia  stood  at  all  times  ready  to 
correct  any  cn-or  that  might  be  detected  in  the  work  of  her  commis- 
sioners— but  no  revision  of  it  has  ever  been  called  for,  and  it  is  believed 
that  both  States  are  now  satisfied. 

Nothing  could  have  induced  Major  Crawford  to  take  a  berth  in  such 
an  unpleasant  service  but  a  strong  persuasion  that  the  establishment 
of  this  boundary  would  conduce  to  an  early  removal  of  the  Creek  and 
Cherokee  Indians.  Georgia  has  paid  an  extravagant  premium  to  the 
federal  government  to  extinguish  the  title  (by  occupancy)  which  these 
two  nations  held  within  her  chartered  limits — but  the  government  had 
been  dilatory,  not  to  say  culpably  delinquent  to  her  plighted  faith.  '  In 
the  mean  time,  the  people  of  the  State  had  been  deprived  of  the  use  of 
large  bodies  of  fertile  soil,  which  the  Indians,  in  concert  with  certain 
obti'usive  Church  missionaries,  and  probably  with  the  connivance  of 
intriguing  politicians,  were  seeking,  as  it  would  seem,  if  not  to  appro- 
priate to  their  own  uses,  at  least,  to  detain  for  an  indefinite  time,  from 
the  rightful  possession  of  Georgia.  This  stealthy  encroachment  was  re- 
pelled, and  the  government  of  the  State  found  means,  in  a  (ew  years, 
fully  to  vindicate  her  long  slighted  claims.  As  was  foreseen,  the  In- 
dian tribes  were  removed  beyond  the  Mississippi  to  a  more  eligible 
home  ;  and  in  the  hands  of  the  white  man,  the  hunting-grounds  of  the 
Creek  and  Cherokee,  have  become  the  theatre  of  enlightened  in- 
dustry, the  seat  of  a  progressive  civilization. 

About  ten  years  after  the  Alabama  boundary  was  marked.  Major 
Crawford  received  from  the  General  Assembly  a  call  to  a  more  im- 
portant, and  to  himself  a  much  more  agreeable  work — the  construction 
of  the  "Western  and  Atlantic  Railroad."  In  the  fall  of  1837,  an 
enactment  of  that  body  made  provision  for  the  survey,  location,  and 
structure  of  a  railroad  across  the  mountaiiious  elevations  which  sepa- 
rate the  valley  of  the  Chattahoochee  river  from  that  of  the  Tennessee  ; 
and  as  the  work  was  to  be  done  at  the  expense  of  the  State  the  legisla- 
ture organized  a  Board  of  Commissioners, and  charged  it  with  the  superin- 
tendence and  direction  of  the  whole  enterprise.  Samuel  Fariss,  Charles 
Bolton,  and  Joel  Crawford  were  elected  by  joint  ballot  of  the  two  houses 
of  the  legislature,  and  by  the  choice  of  the  two  first-named  gentlemen,the 
latter  was  appointed  to  the  presidency  of  the  Board,  a  position  which 
he  continued  to  occupy  until  the  road  formation  was  nearly  complete, 
on  the  whole  projected  length  of  one  hundred  and  forty  miles,  and  un- 
til the  Board  was  dissolved.  Though  he  had  no  agency  in  the  enact- 
ment which  brought  forth  this  magnificent  project,  he  cordially 
approved  the  policy,  and  was  anxious  to  take  a  leading  part  in  carry- 
ing into  effect  an  enterprise  so  worthy  of  the  resources  and  patriotic 
ambition  of  his  native  State. 

Narrow  and  adverse  views  of  this  great  work  had  prevailed  to  some 
extent  at  its  inception,  and  at  the  end  of  four  years,  a  factious  opposi- 
tion found  means  to  abrogate  the  lavvunder  which  the  Board  had  been 
organized ;  and  the  unfinished  road,  after  a  heavy  expenditure  of  mo- 
ney, time,  and  labor,  and  without  a  single  specific  charge  of  mal-admi- 
nistration  against  the  commissioners,  seemed  likely  to  be  abandoned 
Not  the  first  instance  in  which  profligate  politicians  have,  from  sinis 


182  SKETCHES  OF  EMINENT  AMERICANS. 

ter  motives,  betrayed  the  public  interests — especially  in  reference  to 
those  grand  innovations,  the  beneficial  results  of  which  an  uninformed 
people  are  so  illy  able  to  foresee  and  appreciate.  But  the  malign  in- 
fluence which  retarded  for  a  time  this  invaluable  piece  of  internal 
improvement,  had  but  a  short  and  ignominious  triumph ;  and  the  com- 
missioners under  whose  direction  it  had  such  an  auspicious  commence- 
ment, have  lived  to  enjoy  the  satisfaction  of  seeing  it  finished  and 
made  extensively  subservient,  not  only  to  the  commercial  prosperity  of 
Georgia,  but  of  other  States. 

Though  few  of  his  cotcmporaries  have  filled  a  greater  number  and 
variety  of  stations  in  the  public  service,  Major  Crawford  has  been 
several  times  an  unsuccessful  candidate  for  office.  Indeed,  in  the 
common  acceptation  of  the  phrase,  he  could  never  have  been  consi- 
dered a  popular  man.  He  is  not  indued  with  that  flexibility  of  tem- 
per and  manner  which  tend  so  much  to  conciliate  popular  favor,  and 
few  have  given  more  decisive  proofs  of  habitual  contempt  for  timorous 
concealment  of  political  opinions,  of  doubtful  reception  among  the 
people.  He  was  bred  a  republican  of  the  Jeff'ersonian  school,  and 
under  every  change  of  party  denomination,  has  been  a  steady  adhe- 
rent to  the  creed  ;  but  he  has  been  often  heard  to  express  his  want  of 
confidence  in  the  integrity  of  parties,  of  whatever  name.  He  does  not 
believe  that  men  who  were  born  in  the  United  States,  and  trained  up 
to  adult  age  in  a  familiarity  with  the  institutions  of  the  country,  can  to 
much  extent  differ  in  their  interpretations  of  the  state  and  federal 
constitutions — and  he  does  believe  that  most  or  all  the  party  ma- 
chinery, of  hired  presses,  caucuses,  factitious  platforms,  issues  and 
clique  contrivances  of  whatever  import,  are  little  better  than  the  de- 
vices of  demagogues,  to  delude  a  credulous  people  into  a  practical 
abuse  of  their  rights  of  sufirage. 

Major  Crawford  has  reared  and  educated  three  sons  and  three 
daughters,  all  of  whom  give  fair  promise  of  usefulness  and  respecta- 
bility in  the  walks  of  future  life.  He  has  for  many  years  past  resided 
on  his  estate  in  South-western  Georgia,  and  at  the  age  of  three-score 
and  ten,  continues  to  enjoy  robust  health. 


^^z^S^       y^  ,c-^^^ 


HON.   PETKR   HITCHCOCK,  OF  OHIO.  183 

HON.    PETER    HITCHCOCK, 

LATE   CHIEF  JUSTICE  OF  OHIO.* 

The  subject  of  this  memoir  was  born  in  the  town  of  Cheshire,  iu 
the  county  of  New-Haven,  and  State  of  Connecticut,  October  19, 
1781.  Like  other  youth  of  New-England,  he  had  the  advantages  of  a 
common  school  education,  such  as  they  were  hear  the  close  of  the 
last  century  ;  and  when  of  suitable  age,  turned  his  attention  to  classi- 
cal studies.  At  the  age  of  seventeen  years,  he  entered  Yale  College, 
as  a  member  of  the  Sophomore  class,  and  graduated  in  1801.  The 
pecuniary  circumstances  of  his  father  were  limited,  so  much  so,  that 
in  order  to  acquire  the  means  of  defraying  the  expenses  of  an  educa- 
tion, he  was  compelled  to  rely  measurably  upon  his  own  exertions. 
For  this  purpose  he  spent  his  vacations,  and  occasionally  some  por- 
tions of  the  college  terms,  in  teaching  school.  In  consequence  of 
this  embarrassment,  he  did  not  succeed  as  well  in  his  college  studies 
as  might  otherwise  have  been  expected,  although  his  character  as  a 
scholar  was  reputable.  His  fellow-students  regarded  him  as  a  young 
man  of  excellent  habits  and  judgment,  a  careful  and  accurate,  rather 
than  a  brilliant  student.  He  did  not  so  particularly  attract  the  atten- 
tion of  the  faculty  as  to  excite  on  their  part  anticipations  that  his 
future  course  would  do  eminent  honor  to  his  alma  mater.  In  this  re- 
spect, his  case  was  not  unlike  those  of  the  late  Henry  Baldwin  and 
Daniel  Webster,  in  their  retirement  from  college.  Like  those  emi- 
nent men  also,  by  his  subsequent  life,  he  demonstrated  most  clearly, 
that  his  instructors  had  signally  fiiiled  to  appreciate  his  intellectual 
capacity  and  power. 

After  leaving  college  he  made  choice  of  the  law  as  a  profession, 
and  engaged  in  its  studies,  in  the  spring  of  1802.  These  studies 
were  pursued  with  private  instructors,  and  mostly  in  the  county  of 
Litchfield,  in  his  native  State.  He  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  March, 
1804.  His  examination  for  admission  evinced  that  his  preparatory 
studies  had  been  pursued  with  diligence  and  attention,  and  that  he 
was  well  qualified  to  engage  in  the  practice  of  his  profession.  He 
immediately  opened  an  office  in  his  native  town,  and  continued  in 
practice  there  for  about  two  years,  with  fair  success  for  a  young  man 
well  qualified,  diligent,  and  attentive  to  business.  In  180.5  he  was 
married  to  Miss  Nabby  Cook,  of  his  native  town,  who  still  survives 
him.  Although  his  prospects  for  business  in  Connecticnt  were  as 
flattering  as  could  have  been  reasonably  expected,  yet  he  was  fully 
aware  of  the  difficulties  which  a  young  lawyer  must  necessarily  en- 
counter, especially  where  the  profession  is  crowded,  and  the  business 
principally  in  the  hands  of  old  practitioners  of  established  character. 
He  therefore  concluded  to  "  try  his  fortune"  in  a  new  country,  and  iu 

♦  A  brief  sketch  of  this  distinguished  jurist  was  published  in  "  Biographical 
Sketches  f)f  Eminent  American  Lawyers,"  in  June,  1852,  but  he  has  since  de- 
ceased, and  a  more  extended  notice  is  deemed  due  to  his  memory. 


184  SKETCHES   OF   EMINENT  AMERICAN'S. 

the  spring  of  1806,  removed  with  his  family  to  Geauga  county,  in  the 
State  of  Ohio,  and  settled  on  the  farm  in  the  township  of  Beaton,  on 
which  he  resided  until  his  death. 

The  State  of  Ohio  was  at  that  time  truly  a  new  country.  It  was 
almost  entirely  a  wilderness,  although  in  some  portion  of  it  settlements 
had  been  commenced,  and  here  and  there  might  be  found  an  occa- 
sional cabin.  The  entire  population  did  not  much  exceed  one  hun- 
dred thousand.  It  was  extremely  difficult  to  get  from  place  to  place, 
as  the  roads,  where  there  were  any,  were  almost  impassable,  and  fre- 
quently the  traveller  was  guided  by  nothing  better  than  a  blazed  or 
marked  line  through  the  forest.  That  portion  of  the  State  in  which 
Mr.  Hitchcock  located  himself,  and  which  is  known  as  the  Connec- 
ticut Western  Reserve,  had,  perhaps,  fewer  inhabitants  in  proportion 
to  the  extent  of  territory  than  most  other  parts  of  the  State.  The 
Western  Reserve  was  at  that  time  divided  into  two  counties,  Trumbull 
and  Geauga,  the  latter  having  been  organized  in  the  spring  of  1806. 
Their  population  did  not  then  exceed  five  or  six  thousand,  nor  did  it 
increase  with  much  rapidity  until  after  the  close  of  the  war  of  1812. 
Western  New-York  was,  at  that  time,  a  new  country,  and  its  territory 
had  first  to  be  supplied  with  inhabitants,  before  it  could  be  expected 
that  many  emigrants  would  venture  as  far  west  as  Ohio.  The  West- 
ern Reserve,  which,  in  1806,  constituted  but  two  counties,  is  now  di- 
vided into  ten,  and  parts  of  it  arc  attached  to  three  others.  In  1850 
its  population  exceeded  two  hundred  and  ninety-six  thousand,  and  that 
of  the  entire  State  had  increased  to  nearly  two  millions. 

Judge   Hitchcock  was   not  disappointed  in  his  expectations  in  re- 
moving to  Ohio.     True,  law  business,  as  might  have  been  expected, 
considering  the  sparseness  of  the  population,  was  small,  and  for  seve- 
ral years  his  time  was  somewhat  divided  between   his  profession  and 
the  "  clearing  up"  and  cultivation  of  his  farm.     During  several  differ- 
ent  seasons   also,  after  his  arrival  in  Ohio,  he  was    engaged  in  teach- 
ing school.     But  notwithstanding  these   interruptions,  and  the  disad- 
vantages of  a  residence  at  some  distance  from  the  county-seat,  he  had 
his   full   share  of  what  legal  business  there  was.      His  practice  con- 
stantly increased  with  the  increase  of  population  and   the  improvement 
of  the  country.     Nor  was  it  confined  to  one  county,  but  extended  over 
the  entire  Reserve  ;  throughout  all  of  which,  he  soon  acquired  the  re- 
putation of  a  leading  lawyer.     In  the  practice  he  was  successful,  and 
had  the  satisfaction  of  believing  that  his  clients  were  well  satisfied 
with  his  management  of  the  business  committed  to  his  care.     In  con- 
ducting this  business  he  was  compelled  to  trust  principally  to  the 
knowledge    of  the    law  acquired  in  his  preparatory  studies,  as  books 
were   scarce  in    that  part  of  Ohio,  and    he  had   not  much  time   for 
reading.     Few  now  remain  who  can  speak  of  his  early  efforts  at  the 
bar  from  personal  knowledge  ;  but  the  records  and  files  of  the  causes 
in  which  he  was  employed,  sufficiently  indicate   that  he  was  then  a 
well-read  lawyer,  familiar  with   the  leading  principles  of  the  science, 
and  possessed  of  an  acute,  practical,  discriminating,  and  logical  mind. 
His  cotemporaries  describe  him  as  one  that  came  to  the  trial  of  his 
causes  well  prepared;  skilful   in   eliciting  and  arranging  his  proofs  ; 
of  /amiliar  and  persuasive   eloquence,  united  with  a  happy  faculty  of 


HON.   PETER   HITCHCOCK,   OF   OHIO.  185 

taking  a  natural  view  of  the  most  intricate  and  complex  case,  and  so 
simplifying  it,  as  to  render  it  easily  understood,  and  clear  to  men  of 
ordinary  comprehension  ;  and  withal  possessed  of  talent  sufficient  to 
grapple,  successfully,  with  any  amount  of  new  and  unexpected  matter 
of  law  or  fact,  that  should  happen  to  be  thrown  suddenly  upon  liiin, 
and  handle  it,  apparently,  with  the  same  ease  that  he  managed  a  case 
composed  of  the  simplest  elements.  To  all  this  he  added  the  moral 
influence  of  a  high  character  for  candor,  personal  integrity,  aud  fair- 
ness. 

Perhaps  the  safest  opinion  of  his  intellectual  capacity  and  power 
may  be  formed  from  the  fact,  that  he  held  a  leading  position  at  the 
bar,  when  it  embraced  men  of  signal  ability,  with  whom  he  was 
brought  into  daily  conflict.  The  grave  is  now  closed  over  most  of  the 
eminent  lawyei's  that  attended  the  courts  within  the  circle  of  his  prac- 
tice, between  the  years  1806  and  1819.  The  present  generation  know 
but  little  of  the  treasures  of  knowledge  and  talents  brought  to  the 
West  by  those  energetic  and  enterprising  pioneers.  Tradition  some- 
times speaks  of  them.  Still  the  present  generation  is  inclined  most 
erroneously  to  arrogate  to  itself  superior  ability  in  proportion  to  its 
greater  facilities.  On  hearing  a  remark  claiming  this  superiority,  the 
reply  of  one  of  the  survivors  of  tliat  day,  himself  a  competent  judge, 
was,  "  You  are  mistaken  ;  I  tell  you  there  were  giants  at  the  West  in 
those  days."  P«erhaps  this  reply  may  be  deemed  a  little  extravagant; 
but  the  names  of  those  who  were  wont,  at  that  time,  to  attend  the 
courts  in  Trumbull  county,  furnish,  at  least,  an  apology  for  it.  Hon. 
Elisha  Whittlesey,  and  the  late  Judges  Tod,  Pease,  and  Goodcnow 
were  residents,  and  the  Hon.  Benjamin  Tappan,  Philip  Doddridge, 
Charles  Hammond,  Justice  Baldwin,  of  the  United  States  Supreme 
Court,  and  several  other  prominent  lawyers,  were  frequent  attendants. 
Most  of  these  have  departed  this  life,  and  have  left  a  posthumous  fame 
for  learning  and  ability,  not  often  equalled  by  those  vvrhose  reputation 
is  acquired  at  the  early  age  at  which  theirs  was.  Of  the  survivors  it 
is  unnecessary  to  speak.  Their  high  standing  and  eminent  ability 
are  well  known  to  their  fellow-citizens.  These  men  would  have  been 
ranked  with  the  proudest  intellects  that  adorn  the  profession,  in  what- 
ever section  ol  the  country  they  had  lived. 

It  was  in  a  new  country,  not  well  supplied  with  books,  with  the 
cares  of  a  pioneer,  and  the  charge  of  a  young  family  upon  him,  and 
pitted  against  such  men,  that  young  Hitchcock  was  obliged  to  struggle 
up  the  hill  of  fame,  in  those  primitive  times  ;  and  successfully  did  he 
struggle,  and  secure  to  himself  a  proud  eminence.  It  was  under  such 
auspices,  with  but  a  mere  trifle  of  inherited  property,  that  he  was 
obliged  to  earn  his  daily  bread  and  provide  for  the  education  ol  his 
increasing  family,  and  to  bear,  in  the  mean  time,  his  full  share  of  the 
current  burdens  of  society,  at  the  same  time  that  he  provided  the 
means  of  support  for  his  declining  years  :  yet  he  was  always  found 
undiscouraged  and  equal  to  his  task.  An  active  and  efficient  member 
of  society  and  of  the  church,  he  was  there,  no  less  than  when  repre- 
senting the  people  in  the  legislature,  in  Congress,  and  in  convention, 
or  while  discharging  the  duties  of  chief-justice  of  the  State,  the  same 
self-possessed,  imposing,  but  modest,  unassuming,  unofTicious  man  of 


186  SKETCHES  OF   EMINENT  AMERICANS. 

influence  ;  the  same  unobtrusive  individuality  of  character  and  ster- 
ling rectitude  of  conduct,  in  all  stations  of  life,  marked  hi.n  as  a  man 
of  more  than  ordinary  mould,  and  failed  not  to  secure  the  respect  and 
confidence  of  his  fellow-men,  in  whatever  capacity  they  became  ac- 
quainted with  him. 

Judge  Hitchcock  possessed  a  strong  physical  frame,  and,  during  a 
considerable  portion  of  his  life,  especially  during  the  last  twenty  years 
of  it,  was  favored  with  good  health,  and  was  capable  of  uncommonly 
severe  mental  endurance.  His  head  indicated  the  possession  of  a 
massive,  finely-developed  brain.  The  calm  self-possession,  evenness 
of  temper,  firmness  of  purpose,  and  self-reliant  judgment  which  he 
uniformly  exhibited,  would  have  been  indicated  by  nature's  endow- 
ments ;  yet  he  had  improved  upon  these  natural  faculties  by  constant 
habits  of  sobriety,  personal  restraint,  and  untiring  industry. 

In  early  life  he  acted  efficiently  with  the  political  party  that  brought 
Jeflerson,  Madison,  and  Monroe  to  the  Presidency  ;  and  was  one  of 
the  most  successful  advocates  of  their  principles  in  Ohio.  This  course 
in  politics,  and  his  eminence  at  the  bar,  soon  brought  him  prominently 
before  the  people  ;  and  in  1810  he  was  elected  a  representative  to  the 
General  Assembly  of  the  State.  In  1812,  he  was  elected  to  the  State 
Senate;  and  in  1814  re-elected.  He  served  during  both  terms  of  two 
years  each,  and  was  speaker  of  that  body  for  one  session.  As  a  member 
of  the  General  Assembly,  whether  in  the  house  or  in  the  senate,  he  oc- 
cupied a  prominent  position,  and  exerted  his  full  share  of  influence. 
In  the  fall  of  1816,  at  a  warmly-contested  election,  he  was  returned  to 
the  Congress  of  the  United  States,  and  took  his  seat  as  representative  in 
that  body  in  December,  1817.  Before  the  close  of  his  congressional 
term,  he  was,  in  1819,  by  the  legislature  of  Ohio,  elected  a  judge  of 
the  Supreme  Court  of  that  State,  for  the  constitutional  term  of  seven 
years.  He  was  re-elected  to  the  same  office  in  February,  1826,  in 
March,  1835,  and  in  January,  1845  ;  and  finally  retired  from  the  bench 
on  the  9th  of  February,  A.  D.  1852,  at  the  advanced  age  of  seventy 
years.  He  had  been  returned  and  served  in  the  State  Senate  during 
the  term  between  1833  and  1835,  and  was  again  for  one  session  its 
speaker.  The  fact  that  he  entered  public  life  in  1810,  and  continued 
to  occupy,  for  a  period  of  forty  years,  the  most  important  stations 
within  the  gift  of  the  people  of  his  adopted  State,  is  an  eloquent  com- 
mentary on  his  character,  expressive  of  their  decided  opinion  of  his 
merits.  It  tells  better  and  more  forcibly  than  words  can  express,  how 
his  long  and  faithful  services  were  appreciated  by  those  who  best  knew 
their  worth.  Nor  was  this  abiding  confidence  less  creditable  to  those 
who  so  cheerfully  continued  it,  than  to  the  worthy  recipient  of  so  much 
public  favor.  Public  applause  was  never  won  by  him  with  any  of  the 
artifices  by  which  some  acquire  an  evanescent  popularity  and  become 
great  men  for  a  day.  He  never  practised  any  of  the  arts  of  the  de- 
magogue ;  and  if  he  possessed  that  power,  he  scorned  to  use  it,  but 
regarded  it  as  a  faculty  never  to  be  put  in  requisition.  His  judicial 
station,  so  ably  filled  for  twenty-eight  years,  was  one  illy  calculated 
to  secure  an  available  popularity,  in  a  community  where  party  lines  are 
closely  drawn.  The  judge  svho,  like  him,  does  his  duty,  his  whole 
duty,  and  nothing  but  his   duty,  and  thereby  earns   and  wins  golden 


HON.    PETER     HITCHCOCK,    OF    OHIO.  187 

opini;)iis  from  the  learned  and  the  good,  must,  by  the  very  act  of  per- 
foriuiuice,  sufliciently  thwart  the  course  of  the  dissolute,  corrupt,  and 
cnininal  portions  of  conmiuuity  to  secure  their  enmity  ;  and  he  neces- 
sarily incurs  the  hazard  of  their  holding  the  balance  of  power  between 
the  contending  parties  of  the  day,  and  of  their  using  it  under  the  false 
pretence  of  avenging  a  real  injury. 

Moreover,  as  has  been  stated,  Judge  Hitchcock  was  originally  a 
republican,  of  the  Jeflersonian  school,  and,  from  his  arrival  at  full  age 
until  the  formation  of  new  parties,  or  the  re-construction  of  old  ones, 
subsequent  to  the  election  of  John  Quincy  Adams,  had  uniformly  and 
efiiciently  acted  with  the  Republican  party.  Although  personally  pre- 
ferring the  election  of  that  gentleman  to  the  Presidency,  he  had,  in 
1823,  presided  at  a  meeting  in  Geauga  County,  which  nominated  An- 
drew Jackson  for  that  office  ;  and  had  been  as  freely  berated  for  what 
were  called  his  radical  notions,  at  an  early  day,  as  vi^ere  the  active 
supporters  of  Jackson  at  a  subsequent  period.  He  had  strenuously 
sustained  the  war  of  1812  ;  and  for  the  other  supposed  political  sins  of 
the  old  republicans,  his  opponents  taxed  him  with  a  partisan's  full 
share  of  responsibility.  He,  however,  in  common  with  many  of  his 
political  friends,  advocated  the  election  of  John  Quincy  Adams,  and 
sustained  his  administration.  He  insisted  that  he  could  never  discover 
wherein  that  administration  ditfered  materially  from  those  which  pre- 
ceded it,  which  were  admitted  to  be  republican.  He  ever  afterwards 
acted  with  the  Whig  party,  because  he  believed  there  was  more  of  the 
spirit  of  genuine  repul)licanism  in  that  than  in  the  opposing  party,  and 
that  its  measures,  if  adopted  and  persevered  in,  would  conduce  to  the 
best  interests  of  the  whole  country.  He  was  conservative  in  his  feelings 
although  not  opposed  to  judicious  reforms  ;  but  in  efl'ecting  them, 
thought  gradual,  rather  than  great  and  sudden,  changes  most  prudent. 
Wi;h  the  agrarian  movements  of  the  present  day  he  had  not  the 
slightest  sympathy. 

His  political  course  subsequent  to  1824  (especially  as  those  of  his 
early  associates  who  attached  themselves  to  the  Democratic  party 
charged  him  with  a  departure  from  the  true  faith)  placed  him  in  a  po- 
sition to  receive  the  decided  opposition  of  that  party,  whenever  an 
opportunity  was  furnished  to  politicians  to  nTake  him  sensible  of  their 
power.  Hence  arose  the  two  interruptions  of  the  continuity  of  his 
judicial  service.  But  these  things  did  not  aflect  him.  On  his  return 
to  the  bench,  he  bore  himself  with  such  dignity  and  fairness,  and 
evinced  such  ability,  as  won  from  those  of  the  profession  who  acted 
politically  against  him,  opinions  as  favorable  and  an  esteem  as  warm 
and  abiding  as  those  entertained  for  him  by  his  political  friends  and 
associates.  His  brethren  upon  the  bench  who,  at  different  times,  had 
thus  displaced  him,  could  never  discern  the  least  evidence  that  the 
occasion  had  left  upon  his  mind  anything  to  render  their  position  as 
associates  less  acceptable  to  him  or  less  pleasant  to  themselves  than  it 
would  have  been  if  they  had  been  brought  upon  the  same  bench 
under  auspices  the  best  calculated  to  produce  friendship.  This  is 
decided  language  ;  but  it  is  the  testimony  of  one  who  has  means  of 
knowledge  possessed  by  no  other  man,  and  who  speaks  from  that  per- 
sonal knowledge.  It  is  what  could  be  said  only  of  a  liberal,  generous, 
noble  mind.     It  is  saying  much  for  the  magnanimity  of  one  who  for 


188  SKETCHES   OF  EMINENT  AMERICANS. 

years  was  regarded  by  all  classes  as  a  leading  spirit  of  tlie  Whig  party 
in  Northern  Ohio  ;  and  who  had  long  been  a  shining  and  conspicuous 
target  tor  the  shafts  of  political  opponents  oi'  all  grades. 

That  this  favorable  opinion  is  not  the  expression  of  a  single  friendly 
individual,  may  be  shown  by  a  single  illustration,  and  its  introduction 
will  exhibit  this  distinguished  citizen  again  acting  in  a  most  important 
station.  A  practical  test  of  public  opinion,  in  regard  to  him,  was  fur- 
nished in  the  election  of  delegates  to  the  Convention  for  the  revision 
of  the  Constitution  of  Ohio,  in  the  spring  of  1850.  The  district  in 
which  he  resided  was  entitled  to  three  delegates,  and  was  pre-emi- 
nently the  stronghold  of  Free-soilism.  That  party  outnumbered 
each  of  the  others  by  some  500  or  1,000  voters.  Actuated  by  what, 
under  the  peculiar  circumstances  of  the  case,  was  considered  by 
the  Whigs  and  Democrats  an  illiberal  policy,  and  contemplating,  as 
was  supposed,  measures  extremely  obnoxious  to  them,  the  Free-Soilers 
put  in  nomination  a  full  ticket  of  men  of  their  own  party.  This  course 
on  their  part  produced  an  agreement  of  the  other  two  parties  to  support 
a  Union  ticket,  composed  of  sound  Whigs  and  Democrats — the  Whigs 
had  the  greater  number  of  voters,  and  of  course  a  superior  claim  to  two 
of  the  three  delegates  ;  but  inasmuch  as  their  excess  of  numbers  was 
not  in  that  proportion,  in  order  to  compensate  for  the  deficiency,  they 
very  generously  offered  to  the  Democratic  party  the  selection  of  the 
Whigs  that  should  be  placed  on  the  ticket.  The  offer  was  accepted, 
and  the  Democrats,  with  great  unanimity,  named  Judge  Hitchcock,  the 
great  leader  of  their  political  opponents,  and  the  man  of  the  most  in- 
fluence among  them,  as  their  first  choice.  He  then  held  the  office  of 
Chief  Justice  of  Ohio,  and  with  much  reluctance  accepted  the  nomina- 
tion. He,  however,  did  so,  and,  with  the  whole  ticket,  was  elected  in 
spite  of  a  severe  apd  bitter  opposition,  receiving  the  support  of  almost 
every  regular  Democrat  in  the  entire  district.  That  was  a  proud  day 
in  the  life  of  a  toil-worn  public  servant,  and  it  is  believed  that  its  re- 
sults were  not  less  important  to  the  people  of  the  State  of  his  early 
adoption,  than  honorable  to  him. 

Judge  Hitchcock  took  his  seat  in  the  convention  at  the  time  it  as- 
sembled, and  was  active  in  the  discharge  of  his  duties.  He  performed 
his  full  share  of  labor  in  the  most  important  committees,  examined 
carefully  every  subject  that  underwent  discussion,  frequently 
took  an  active  part  in  the  debates,  and  was  conspicuous  among 
the  most  useful  and  valuable  members  of  that  most  distinguished 
body  of  men.  He  returned  to  his  constituents  after  the  close  of 
his  labors,  and  had  the  signal  good  fortune  to  learn  from  them  that 
they  were  well  satisfied,  that  his  course  had  fully  justified  their  pre- 
ference in  selecting  him.  They  were  satisfied  that  his  constant  aim 
had  been  to  present  for  the  action  of  the  people  an  instrument  as  per- 
fect in  itself,  and  as  well  calculated  to  promote  the  happiness  and  pros- 
perity of  the  present,  and  future  millions  of  Ohio,  as  could  be  formed  ; 
and  that  he  had  pursued  that  object  with  a  singleness  of  purpose,  that 
had  elevated  him  entirely  above  the  level  of  a  partisan,  to  the  dignity 
of  the  experienced,  practical  statesman. 

It  was  not  to  be  expected  that  he  would  agree  in  all  things  with  the 
majority,  nor  did  he.    When  others  differed,  he  heard  them  attentively, 


HON.    PETER    HITCHCOCK,  OF    OHIO.  189 

and  used  his  best  efl'orts  by  argument  to  modify  their  views,  and  to 
produce  unity  of  action,  by  reconciling  conflicting  opinions.  The 
working  of  the  new  constitution  will  soon  test  the  question  how  far  he 
was  right,  and  wherein  a  departure  from  his  counsels  was  the  result  of 
a  prudent  foresight.  He  entered  the  convention  a  man  of  large  expe- 
rience, of  clear,  methodical  mind,  and  probably  better  understood  the 
defects  of  the  old  system  than  any  other  man  in  Ohio.  In  his  record- 
ed votes,  and  the  reported  debates,  he  has  left  ample  means  by  which 
posterity  can  form  a  correct  judgment  upon  his  every  act  in  that 
body. 

He  was  decidedly  in  favor  of  transferring  directly  to  the  people  the 
election  of  the  judiciary,  and  of  all  State  and  county  officers.  The 
conviction  of  the  policy  of  a  change  in  this  respect  had  been  pro- 
duced in  his  mind  by  careful  observation  of  the  operation  of  the  old 
system.  He  was  opposed  to  reducing  the  term  of  office  to  the  judges, 
believing  that  public  policy,  as  well  as  the  interests  of  persons  and 
property,  required  its  increase  rather  than  its  diminution.  He  would 
have  much  preferred  that  it  should  have  been  fixed  at  fifteen  years, 
with  a  prohibition  against  re-election.  With  the  arrangement  of  the 
judicial  system  he  was  not  entirely  satisfied.  He  regarded  it  as  quite 
problematical,  whether  the  contemplated  legal  reforms  would  be  found 
of  practical  use,  especially  in  the  State  of  Ohio.  It  had  been  the 
effort,  both  of  the  legislature  and  the  courts  of  that  State,  to  simplify 
legal  proceedings  as  much  as  possible  ;  technicalities  had  been  in  a 
great  measure  discarded,  and  brevity  in  pleadings  was  encouraged. 
True,  the  common  law  form  of  the  action  of  ejectment  was  retained, 
but  in  practice  no  ev^il  resulted  from  it,  and  in  no  form  of  action  were 
the  rights  of  parties  litigant  more  easily  ascertained  and  determined 
than  in  this  :  under  the  rules  of  court,  the  issue  was  so  made  up,  that 
the  great  question,  and  indeed,  generally,  the  only  question,  was  that 
of  title,  or  the  right  of  possession.  Under  the  new  constitution,  all 
distmction  in  the  forms  of  action  and  proceedings  at  law  and  in  equity 
have  been  abolished.  Whether  this  experiment  will  conduce  to  the 
ends  of  justice,  time  and  experience  must  determine.  Many  compe- 
tent men  and  intelligent  lawyers  begin  to  think  that  the  Chief  Justice 
was  far  from  erring  in  his  anticipations  on  this  subject,  and  to  speak 
of  the  necessity  of  modifying  the  judicial  system,  and  the  code,  to  pre- 
vent the  failure  of  both.  Doubtless,  a  future  trial  should  be  made  be- 
fore attempting  any  change,  and  perhaps  the  result  will  be  entirely 
satisfactory. 

Judge  Hitchcock  favored  decidedly  the  provisions  of  the  new  con- 
stitution recognizing  the  public  debt,  and  providing  for  its  payment, 
and  limiting  the  power  of  the  legislature  to  incur  additional  liabilities  ; 
also,  the  different  clauses  requiring  the  equal  taxation  of  all  the  pro- 
perty in  the  State ;  and  the  incorporation  of  the  principle  of  individual 
liability  of  stockholders  in  corporations  ;  although  he  probably  would 
have  preferred  to  have  excepted  from  the  operation  of  this  rule  corpo- 
rations designed  especially  for  purposes  of  internal  improvement. 

In  reviewing  the  course  of  Judge  Hitchcock  as  a  legislator,  the  fu- 
ture student  of  the  history  of  Ohio  will  find  some  things  worthy  of 
particular  note.     He  will  find  votes  of  his  at  an   early  date,  that  give 


J90  SKETCHES  OF  EMIN'CMT  AMERICANS. 

evidence  of  a  well-informed  and  mature  judgment,  far  in  advance  of  the 
age  ;  and  that  its  dictates  were  by  him  fearlessly  acted  upon  then,  when 
they  run  counter  to  the  opinions  of  both  political  parties  ;  and  after- 
wards, with  his  characteristic  independence,  acted  upon,  when  the 
Whig  party,  with  whom  he  was  associated,  very  generally  opposed 
them.  History  teaches  us,  that  Governor  St.  Clair  owed  much  of  his 
unpopularity  to  his  efforts  to  induce  the  territorial  legislature  to  de- 
fine and  limit  in  their  charters  the  specific  grants  of  corporate  power 
intended  to  be  conferred  upon  the  artificial  bodies  which  they  created. 
His  vetoes  of  bills,  deemed  defective  in  this  respect,  are  supposed  to 
have  hastened  the  period  of  a  change  from  the  Territorial  to  a  State 
government ;  and  not  only  to  have  excluded  from  the  constitution  the 
veto  power,  but  to  have  caused  the  introduction  into  that  instrument 
of  that  peculiar  clause  which,  for  many  years,  was  construed  by  the 
republicans  as  conferring  upon  any  association,  for  a  lawful  purpose, 
a  constitutional  right  to  demand  a  charter ;  and  such  a  charter,  as 
would  confer  upon  them  all  the  powers  that  might  be  exercised  by  the 
individual  in  his  private  capacity. 

Acting  under  this  conviction,  the  legislature  had  been  liberal  in  the 
unrestricted  grant  of  corporate  power  prior  to  1810  ;  and  it  was  con- 
sidered a  heterodox  notion,  a  departiire  from  the  true  republican  faith, 
to  attempt  to  trammel  the  powers  of  a  corporation  by  legislative  restric- 
tion, when  Judge  Hitchcock  entered  the  house  as  a  member.  He, 
however,  met  the  question  fearlessly,  and  successfully  maintained  that 
the  legislature  had  that  power,  and  that  duty  required  its  exercise,  by 
a  careful  scrutiny  of  all  such  enactments,  and  a  strict  definition  of  the 
powers  intended  to  be  conferred. 

He  also  labored  to  secure  in  such  grants  a  clause  reserving  to  the 
legislature  the  right  to  modify  or  repeal  the  charters,  whenever  de- 
manded by  a  due  regard  to  the  public  welfare.  This  proposition  found 
but  few  supporters  in  1810.  It  was  far  in  advance  of  the  democratic 
confidence  in  the  people  at  that  day.  It  was  an  original  movement  in 
Ohio,  and  was  regarded  as  ultra-radical  and  impracticable  by  both 
political  parties.  The  Federalists,  of  course,  regarded  it  as  entirely 
unsafe  to  trust  corporate  rights  to  the  action  of  subsequent  legislatures. 
But  the  experience  of  forty  years  produced  a  great  change  in  the  public 
mind,  and  the  effect  was  to  induce  the  two  millions  of  people  in  Ohio, 
in  1850,  to  embody  in  their  organic  law  the  rejected  principle  of  1810. 
Its  introduction  was  more  than  acceptable  to  Judge  Hitchcock.  At 
an  early  day  he  considered  it  but  the  dictate  of  prudence  to  thus  pro- 
vide a  remedy  for  incautious,  hasty,  and  ill-advised  legislation.  He 
was  early  convinced  that  it  was  a  measure  of  safety,  necessary  for  the 
proper  protection  of  the  public,  and  this  conviction  of  his  early  man- 
hood had  never  been  shaken,  but  on  the  contrary  had  increased  in 
strength,  as  his  years  and  experience  matured  his  judgment. 

He  was  anxious  for,  and  labored  to  introduce  a  clause  requiring 
compensation  to  be  made  for  any  individual  injury  that  might  be 
caused  by  the  exercise  of  this  reserved  power,  and  claimed  that  such 
clause  would  be  but  the  declaration  of  a  principle  of  natural  justice, 
which  was  unalterable,  and  of  moral  force  at  all  times.  In  this  he 
&iled,  but  yielded  with  commendable  grace  to  the  force  of  numbers. 


HON.  PETER  HITCHCOCK,  OF  OHIO.  191 

He  did  not  regard  the  absence  of  such  clause  as  an  insuperable  objec- 
tion to  the  instrument,  but  expressed  the  opinion  that  the  rejected  pro- 
vision was  one  that  obviously  addressed  itself  to  the  sense  of  justice, 
inherent  in  the  bosom  of  every  member  of  community,  that  no  legisla- 
tive assembly  could  ever  be  long  sustained  in  a  wanton  repeal,  injurious 
to  private  property.  He  deemed  it  hardly  probable  that  a  future  legis- 
lature should  coolly  disregard  a  fixed  principle  of  right,  or  deliberately 
refuse  a  remedy  for  a  positive  wrong  ;  and  utterly  improbable  that  the 
people  of  Ohio  would  ever,  knowingly,  sustain  them  in  so  doing,  or 
hesitate  to  adopt  the  appropriate  means  for  redressing  such  a  Avrong, 
should  it  ever  be  perpetrated. 

In  the  opinion  of  Judge  Hitchcock,  there  were  other  defects  in  the 
constitution  submitted  for  adoption  by  the  people  in  1851,  and  some 
provisions  with  which  he  was  not  entirely  satisfied  ;  still  he  voted  for 
it,  believing  it  to  be  an  improvement  upon  that  of  1802,  and  was  anx- 
ious for  its  adoption  by  the  people,  and  used  his  influence  to  secure 
that  end. 

The  labors  of  Judge  Hitchcock  in  the  Convention  did  not  prevent 
the  performance  of  his  usual  circuit  duties  on  the  bench,  nor  his  sitting 
as  a  member  of  the  court  in  bank  ;  but  the  two  offices  occupied  his 
whole  time,  and  made  that  year  of  his  public  life  one  of  continuous 
toil.  He  had,  however,  the  consciousness  of  having  labored  faithfully 
for  the  performance  of  his  entire  duty  to  the  public,  and  this  was  to 
him  an  ample  reward. 

Important  and  useful  as  were  the  services  of  Judge  Hitchcock  in 
other  departments  of  public  life,  it  was  upon  the  bench  of  the  Supreme 
Court  of  Ohio  that  his  severest  and  most  untiring  efforts  were  put  forth. 
And  he,  who  states  the  full  extent  of  his  merits  as  a  jurist,  is  liable  to 
be  suspected  of  presenting  the  overwrought  panegyric  of  a  too  partial 
friend,  especially  by  those  not  familiar  with  the  nature  and  extent  of 
the  duties  performed  by  him  during  the  long  period  of  his  judicial 
service.  Those  living  in  the  older  States  know  but  little  of  the  labors 
required  of  one  placed  in  his  position,  and  are  illy  prepared  to  appre- 
ciate the  disadvantages  under  which  he  must  act.  The  State  of  Ohio 
was  comparatively  new  and  thinly  settled  in  1819.  All  the  earlier 
States,  and  many  foreign  countries,  had  contributed  largely  to  its 
population.  This  tide  of  immigration  had  continued  to  flow  in,  and  at 
the  time  of  his  leaving  the  bench  had,  with  the  natural  increase  of 
population,  swelled  the  number  of  inhabitants  to  about  two  millions. 
The  State  which  he  began  to  traverse,  with  two-thirds  of  its  surface 
in  its  native  forests  destitute  of  the  first  signs  of  civilization,  had  be- 
come densely  populated,  was  traversed  by  rail-roads,  canals,  and  other 
public  improvements,  with  thriving  villages  thickly  interspersed  over 
a  rich  and  highly  cultivated  country,  which  embraced  several  cities, 
whose  growth  and  prosperity  far  exceeded  the  most  sanguine  hopes  of 
any  who  had  early  prophesied  favorably  of  the  prosperity  of  the  West- 
ern country — of  course  the  changes  were  rapid,  and  the  habits,  feehngs, 
and  opinions- of  the  people  were  far  from  being  settled  and  uniform. 
The  task  of  a  judge  among  such  a  people  is  far  difterent  from  that  of 
one  in  an  old  and  established  comnuinity,  where  the  habits  of  the  peo- 
ple have  become  fixed  ;  the  laws  have  been  reduced  to  a  regular  sys- 


192  SKETCHES  OF  EMIxVEXT  AMERICANS. 

tem,  and  by  time  and  experience  adapted  to  the  state  of  society;   and 
where    the    masses    have    all    been  trained    in   the   same    school    of 
morals   and  policy,  and  comprehend  alike  the  same  subject.     In  such 
a  community,  legislative,   executive  and  judicial  action  naturally  as- 
sumes the  consistent  form  of  a  settled  policy,  produced  in  the  wisdom 
acquired  by  experience,  instead  of  being,  not  unfrequently,  the  result 
of  sanguine  theory,  or  bold  speculation,  crudely  attempted  to  be  reduced 
to  practice,  without  the  experience  necessary  to  give  it  practical  form 
to  foresee  its  evils.     The  duties  of  the  judges  of  the    English  courts 
require  them   to  possess  learning,  integrity,  justice,  industry,   astute 
minds,  and  thorough  knowledge  of  the  people  of  England,  and  of  her 
public  policy,  but  they  have  a  beaten  track  to  tread,  upon   which  the 
learning  of  centuries  has  shed  beams  of  vivid  light.     Even  the  Lord 
Chief  Justice  has  to  pioneer  few  unexplored  regions  of  thought,  where 
he  can  derive  no  aid    from  precedent  well  settled,  and  acquiesced  in 
for  ages.     He  is  rarely  vexed  with  crude  and  ill-digested  statutes,  the 
work  of  minds   not  familiar  with  the  old  law,  the  supposed  mischief, 
or  the  means  of  providing  a  proper  remedy,  or  (what  is  still  more  em- 
barrassing) of  a  mind   more  partial  to  some  provision  of  the  German, 
French,  or  some  other  foreign  code,  than  to  the  English  law.   A  State 
that  changes  from  a  forest  to  a  flourishing  community,  that   increases 
its  numbers  more  than   twenty-fold  in  fifty  years,   mainly  by  an  im- 
mense immigration,  embracing  a  fair  share  of  the  enterprising  c  itizens 
of  every  civilized  country  of  the  world,  necessarily  requires  time  to 
settle  her  own  policy  upon  a  consistent  plan,  to  regulate  her  own  laws, 
and  to  bring  the  different  elements  of  public  thought  to  act  together  in 
harmony.     Every   man  of  intelligence  comes  to  a  new  State  more  or 
less  attached  to  some  of  the  institutions,  and  forms  of  legislation,  and 
civil  procedure  of  the  country  of  his  birth,  and  will  strive,  until  better 
informed,  to  incorporate  in  the  legislation  of  the  State  of  his  adoption 
whatever  he  thought  worked  well  elsewhere.     Influences  of  this  kind 
have  frequently  broken  in  upon  the  common  law  basis  of  legislation  in 
Ohio,  and  disturbed  the  harmony  of  the  system — sometimes,  perhaps, 
for  good  ;  sometimes  otherwise.     But  this  unsettled  state  of  the  public 
mind,  this  constant  change,  necessarily  increases  the  labors  of  the  judge. 
Let  a  man  of  the  highest  and  most  cultivated  intellect,  and  of  the  most 
untiring  industry,  be  placed  in  the  court  of  last  resort,  to  expound  statutes 
framed  under  such  auspices,  and   to  decide  the   numerous  other  ques- 
tions necessarily  arising  ;  require  him  to  hold  court  six  months  upon 
the  circuit,  and  six  weeks  in  bank  each  year  ;  and  to  pass  upon  more 
questions  thus  arising  every  twelve  months,  than  any  judge  in  England 
would  be  required  to  decide  in  twice  that  time  ;  and  compel  him  when 
in  bank  to  write  out  and  deliver  to  the  reporter  his  opinion  by  the  morn- 
ing after  ho  made  a  decision,  and  he  would  soon  learn  how  to  appreciate 
the  labors  of  Judge   Hitchcock   as  a  jurist,  and   to   award  to   him  the 
credit  justly  his   due,  upon   comparing  the  reports  of  his  judicial  deci- 
sions, prepared  under  such  circumstances,  with  those  of  men  of  stan- 
dard ability,  found  in  other  law  reports. 

It  was  amid  this  unsettled  state  of  society  and  law,  and  this  con- 
stant change,  and  under  circumstances  such  as  have  been  described, 
that  he  was  called  upon  to  discharge  his  duties  as  judge.  He  labored 
faithfully  to  introduce  system,  to  sustain  and  enforce  those  principles 


HON.   PETKR  HITCHCOCK,  OF  OHIO.  193 

of  law  sanctioned  by  the  wisdom  and  experience  of  ages,  lo  adapt 
judicial  proceedings  to  the  character  and  wants  of  the  people,  and  to 
give  permanency  and  consistency  to  the  jurisprudence  of  the  State. 
In  any  emergency,  he  seemed  to  bring  to  his  aid  intellectual  strength 
and  research  adequate  to  the  occasion,  and  his  success  was  not  only 
highly  satisfactory,  but  highly  honorable  to  him. 

Ohio  gave  unequivocal  evidence  of  her  opinion  of  his  sterling  v.-orth 
and  great  fitness  fur  judicial  station,  by  continuing  him  so  long  in  her 
service  in  that  capacity.  The  careful  reader  of  the  twenty  volumes 
of  Ohio  Reports,  who  reflects  upon  the  nature  of  his  labors,  and  the 
circumstances  attending  them,  will  never  condemn  his  judgment.  To 
him  these  volumes  are  a  monument  of  enduring  fame.  They  exhibit 
the  solid  structure  of  his  mind.  They  show  him,  as  he  was,  a  man 
well  versed  in  the  elementary  principles  of  law,  anxious  to  do  right, 
and  to  give  plain  reasons  for  his  own  belief  that  what  he  did  was 
right,  without  making  any  pretence  of  superior  ability,  or  aiming  to 
embellish  his  opinions  by  any  of  the  ornaments  of  fine  style.  That  he 
never  erred,  is  what  can  be  neither  said  of  him  nor  any  other  man.  But 
with  him  an  erroneous  decision  was  a  very  unusual  occurrence.  Some 
years  since.  Chancellor  Kent,  whose  opinion  is  entitled  to  the  highest 
credit,  speaking  of  the  first  eight  volumes  of  reports  containing  Judge 
Hitchcock's  early  decisions,  said  they  exhibited  a  sound  and  healthy 
administration  of  the  law  in  Ohio,  which  compared  favorably  with  the 
jurisprudence  of  the  older  States. 

On  the  bench  Judge  Hitchcock  was  laborious,  systematic,  punctual, 
and  attentive.  He  dispatched  business  with  peculiar  facility,  although 
not  without  deliberation.  His  official  life  was  one  of  constant  labor, 
but  he  was  rarely,  if  ever,  in  a  hurry.  He  readily  ascertained  the 
points  in  a  case  which  were  decisive  of  its  merits,  and  his  mind  seemed 
at  once  to  reject  every  thing  that  was  immaterial.  He  read  the  ma- 
nuscript pleadings,  evidence,  and  arguments  submitted,  with  great 
rapidity,  and  never  contented  himself  until  he  had  read  every  paper 
connected  with  a  case.  His  memory  was  retentive,  and  by  a  single 
reading  of  the  papers  in  a  chancery  case,  however  voluminous,  he 
seemed  to  acquire  a  perfect  knowledge  of  their  entire  contents,  and  of 
the  whole  matter  in  controversy,  and  would,  almost  uniformly,  state 
with  accuracy  the  exact  point  upon  which  the  case  turned,  and  name 
the  evidence  that  bore  upon  it.  This  faculty  enabled  him  to  concen- 
trate his  whole  mind  upon  the  question  in  hand,  to  recur  in  debate  with- 
out loss  of  time  to  the  proof  that  would  correct  or  strengthen  a  first 
impression,  and,  united  with  his  habit  of  persevering  with  an  investiga- 
tion once  begun  until  he  had  finished  it,  enabled  him  to  turn  oft',  well 
done,  a  mass  of  business  that  more  sprightly  but  less  methodical  minds 
would  not  be  able  to  dispose  of  as  well  in  the  same  length  of  time. 

He  understood  the  great  object  of  the  whole  machinery  of  courts 
to  be  the  enforcement  of  justice  between  man  and  man,  and  thought, 
that  if  all  were  so  instructed  as  to  entertain  correct  notions  of  right 
and  Avrong,  and  would  observe  the  sound  moral  rule  of  doing  to  others 
as  they  would  that  others  should  do  to  them,  there  would  be  very  little 
need  of  courts  of  justice.  His  anxious  desire  ever  was,  that  strict 
justice  should  be  done  between  parties  litigant,  and  to  arrive  at  this 

13 


194  SKETCHES  OF  EMIxXENT  AMERICANS. 

end,  lie  perhaps  sometimes  too  much  disregarded  technicalities.  He 
had  very  little  reverence  for  a  Vule,  the  justice  of  which  he  could  not 
discern.  If,  in  a  given  case,  a  technical  rule  was  sought  to  be  used  to 
bring  about  a  result  which  conflicted  with  his  strong  sense  of  justice, 
he  was  apt  to  suspect  it  was  misapplied,  and  seek  some  way  to  avoid 
its  force,  and  would  invariably  resist  its  application,  until  convinced 
that  there  was  no  way  of  escape,  but  by  unsettling  the  rules  of  esta- 
blished law.  In  the  estimation  of  some,  this  characteristic  of  his 
mind  was  a  defect.  If  so,  it  was  an  amiable  one.  It  existed  in  the 
minds  of  Chief  Justice  Marshall  and  Theophilus  Parsons  to  an  equal 
degree.  And  whatever  counsel,  in  the  excitement  of  the  moment,  may- 
think,  suitors  will  ever  appreciate  the  judge  whose  aim  is  to  have  jus- 
tice done  in  all  cases  that  come  before  him.  Such  a  judge  will  ever, 
of  necessity,  suspect  either  the  soundness  of  the  rule  itself,  or  the  pro- 
priety of  its  application  to  a  given  case,  whenever  he  sees  it  working 
an  unjust  result.  Regarding  justice  as  the  paramount  object  of  the 
court,  he  will  be  loth  to  defeat  that  object,  and  will  never  sutler  it  to 
be  done  where  he  has  the  power  of  preventing  it,  without  departing 
from  the  known  rules  of  settled  law. 

A  firm,  consistent  thinker,  relying  on  his  own  judgment,  and  care- 
fully surveying  his  ground  before  forming  a  conclusion,  it  was  no  easy 
matter  to  effect  a  change  in  his  opinion,  when  once  decidedly  formed. 
However  highly  he  might  appreciate  the  ability  of  one  who  should 
differ  from  him,  still  that  difference,  unless  sustained  by  fact  or  law, 
which  undermined  the  pillars  upon  which  he  had  based  his  own  con- 
clusion, never  seemed  to  shake  his  confidence  in  the  correctness  of  his 
own  judgment.  Opinions,  with  him,  were  not  a  matter  of  choice,  but 
the  result  of  study  and  reflection,  and  both  were  uniformly  put  in  re- 
quisition and  exercised,  until  a  definite  and  satisfactory  conclusion  be- 
came the  result.  To  move  him  afterwards  from  the  ground  he  had 
assumed,  it  was  ever  necessary  to  understand  his  reasoning  thoroughly, 
and  to  show  him  that,  as  to  some  one  fact  or  legal  proposition,  he  was 
mistaken  ;  and  to  enable  one  to  thus  meet,  and,  if  possible,  overthrow 
him,  he  would  frankly  expose  the  whole  basis  of  his  conclusion,  and 
if  met  by  a  fair  exposition  of  a  false  position,  would  readily  see  it  and 
yield  to  its  force,  without  an  effort  to  sustain  a  first  impression  by  re- 
sorting to  insufficient  reasons.  He  never,  on  the  bench,  exhil»ited  the 
weakness  of  a  drowning  man,  catching  at  whatever  his  hands  could 
reach,  for  self-support.  He  brought  nothing  to  his  aid,  save  what 
he  regarded  as  reliable.  This  characteristic  of  a  powerful  intellect 
made  him  a  very  influential  member  of  the  court  at  all  times,  and  his 
habitual  courtesy  and  candor  rendered  him  not  less  agreeable  than  re- 
liable as  an  associate. 

Much  the  most  laborious  and  important  of  his  duties  during  his 
twenty-eight  years  of  judicial  service  were  performed  upon  the  circuit. 
Of  the  extent  and  character  of  this  service,  none  except  those  imme- 
diately concerned,  or  connected  with  him,  can  form  any  adequate  or 
correct  opinion.  No  report  of  such  cases  was  ever  made  ;  none  can 
now  be  made — yet  they  embraced,  probably,  forty-nine  out  of  every 
fifty  causes  that  he  ever  passed  upon.  Almost  uniformly  these  cases 
were  studied  by  him  with  the  same  care  as  those  determined  in  bank  • 


HON.    PETER   HITCHCOCK,  OF  OHIO.  195 

and  in  pronouncing  his  circuit  opinions  orally,  he  took  pains  to  state 
clearly  all  the  questions  made,  and  the  views  entertained  by  the  court 
upon  each,  and  seldom  left  a  cause  without  satisfying  tiie  counsel  con- 
cerned, and  all  familiar  with  it,  that  he,  at  least,  had  investigated  the 
matter  until  he  thoroughly  understood  it,  even  though  he  were  unable 
to  convince  them  that  he  had  escaped  error  in  its  determination. 

In  committing  his  opinions  to  Avriting,  Judge  Hitchcock  was  not  al- 
ways, perhaps,  the  most  happy,  not  because  he  was  incapable  of  indit- 
ing a  close,  terse,  and  pointed  opinion,  but  because  he  could  seldom  take 
the  time  requisite  to  prune,  condense,  and  weigh  as  would  be  desirable, 
the  exact  force  and  power  of  the  language  used.  The  necessity  for  this 
hasty  preparation  of  opinion  arose  from  the  constant  pressure  of  busi- 
ness in  the  Supreme  Court  during  the  whole  of  his  long  period  of  ser- 
vice, and  from  the  fact  that  a  law  of  the  State  required  manuscript 
opinions  to  be  forthv/ith  handed  to  the  reporter,  on  the  making  of  a 
decision.  This  statute  often  deprived  the  judges  of  the  requisite  op- 
portunity of  revision,  and  is  believed  to  have  been  without  a  parallel 
in  any  other  State.  Notwithstanding  these  disadvantages,  naturally 
inducing  a  habit  of  writing  with  great  rapidity,  and  its  legitimate  ef- 
fect upon  his  style,  the  opinions  of  this  eminent  man  still  exhibit  him 
in  a  light  that  will,  in  the  estimation  of  sound  lawyers  everywhere, 
stamp  him  as  a  jurist  of  no  ordinary  ability,  and  give  him  a  high  rank. 

It  was  felt  by  the  bar  of  Ohio,  and  well  said  by  one  of  its  members, 
in  their  behalf,  on  announcing  to  the  court  in  session  at  the  time  of 
his  decease,  the  sorrowful  event,  that  since  the  last  adjournment  of 
that  court,  a  most  distinguished  man  had  fallen,  one  whose  death  crea- 
ted a  void,  whose  departure  was  a  loss  to  them,  to  the  State,  and  to 
the  cause  of  justice.  In  the  death  of  such  a  man,  society  is  bereft  of 
a  most  valuable  member,  and  has  just  cause  to  mourn. 

During  the  last  term  of  his  official  service  in  the  court  in  bank  at 
Columbus,  in  1852,  the  bar  of  Ohio  furnished  a  highly  complimentary 
testimonial  of  their  estimate  of  his  merits.  They  procured  an  eminent 
artist  to  paint  for  them  a  portrait  of  the  venerable  judge,  with  a  viev/ 
to  have  it  placed  in  the  court-room,  where  his  countenance  had  been 
so  long  familiar,  and  where  his  ability  had  been  so  conspicuous.  It 
of  course  represents  him  as  he  appeared  when  about  to  retire  from 
public  life,  at  the  advanced  age  of  seventy-one  years,  more  than  forty 
of  which  had  been  faithfuHy  spent  in  the  service  of  the  State.  The 
feelings  which  prompted  honorable  and  liberal-minded  men  to  endea- 
vor to  perpetuate,  and  preserve  in  their  hall  of  justice,  a  striking  re- 
semblance of  one  generally  esteemed,  and  eminently  distinguished  in 
that  high  tribunal :  of  one  who  through  a  period  of  twenty-eight  years 
had  discharged  ihe  duties  of  his  exalted  station  patiently,  faithfully, 
without  fear  or  favor,  and  uninfluenced  by  any  illegitimate  considera- 
tion, may  be  readily  appreciated.  It  was  a  tribute  of  affection  and  re- 
spect, from  his  professional  brethren,  which  they  regarded  as  having 
been  nobly  earned.  No  one  in  Ohio  more  richly  deserved  a  similar 
tribute.  He  had  done  more  than  any  other  man  in  the  State  to  ele- 
vate the  character  of  the  profession,  and  to  establish  the  jurisprudence 
of  the  State  on  a  scientific,  sound,  practical  basis.  In  private  life,  and 
in  the  publ'c  stations  which  he  had  so  long  and  so  ably  filled,  his  life 


196  SKETCHES  Oy  EMINENT  AMERICANS. 

had  furnished  a  practical  example,  well  worthy  the  emulation  of  the 
young  men  who  should  succeed  him,  that  few  great  men  had  equalled, 
still  fewer  had'excelled  ;  and  when  the  venerable  judge  had  nearly  ac- 
complished his  public  labors,  and  was  about  to  retire  from  the  stage  of 
public  action,  those  who  knew  him  best  felt  the  force  of  this  truth,  and 
hence  this  spontaneous  token  of  its  acknowledgment.  It  was  but  a 
modest  tribute,  nevertheless  it  went  to  the  full  extent  that  the  modesty 
of  the  honored  subject  of  the  compliment  was  willing  to  permit.  None 
of  his  predecessors  had  been  thus  honored,  and  his  delicacy  of  feeling 
rendered  him  reluctant  to  assent  even  to  this. 

Judge  Hitchcock  was  esteemed  by  those  who  intimately  knew  him, 
not  less  as  a  man  and  a  Christian,  than  as  a  jurist  and  a  civilian.  In 
all  his  social  and  domestic  relations,  he  exhibited  qualities  of  heart 
and  action  that  ever  endeared  him  to  those  brought  into  near  contact 
with  him ;  the  memory  of  which,  stealing  with  sweet  fragrance  over 
their  minds,  will  often  awaken  the  feeling  of  fond  regret  at  the  bereave- 
ment they  have  sustained. 

Descended  from  a  Puritan  stock,  and  reared  amid  the  influences 
Avhich,  in  olden  time,  were  wont  to  cluster  around  the  well-ordered 
New-England  home,  he  imbibed  in  childhood  the  principles  of  sobriety 
and  uprightness  which  adorned  his  subsequent  career,  and  formed  the 
basis  of  that  distinguished  confidence  which  was  in  after  life  repos- 
ed in  him,  even  by  his  most  decided  political  antagonists.  His 
youth  was  marked  by  general  correctness  of  deportment,  and  he  enter- 
ed upon  the  scenes  of  public  life  with  those  moral  and  industrial 
habits  which,  in  connection  with  elevated  aims  and  fair  ability, 
give  a  sure  prestige  of  success  and  eminence  in  any  honorable 
vocation. 

The  moral  and  religious  sentiments  inculcated  under  the  paternal 
roof  became  with  him,  in  riper  years,  matters  of  fixed  and  controlling 
conviction  ;  hence  when,  long  before  he  professed  a  personal  interest 
in  the  Gospel,  his  lot  was  cast  in  a  new  settlement,  he  freely  and  de- 
votedly gave  his  influence  and  aid  to  rear  and  support  its  institutions. 
His  house  was  the  home  of  the  pioneer  missionary  whenever  one  hap- 
pened to  pass  that  way.  When  no  minister  was  present,  he  was  wont 
to  aid  in  sustaining  Sabbath  worship,  by  reading  sermons,  and  on  seve- 
ral occasions,  when  but  a  single  professor  of  religion  was  present,  and 
he  perhaps  a  diffident  youth,  he  persuaded  him  to  lead  in  prayer,  and 
himself  conducted  entire  all  the  other  exercises  of  the  day. 

On  the  4th  of  March,  1832,  at  the  age  of  51  years,  (and  just  twenty- 
one  years  before  his  decease,)  he  made  a  public  profession  of  religion, 
uniting  with  the  Congregational  Church  in  Benton,  of  which  he  re- 
mained, until  his  death,  an  esteemed  and  efficient  member.  In  the 
discharge  of  the  duties  pertaining  to  this  relation,  he  was  equally  strict 
and  faithful,  as  in  the  discharge  of  those  of  his  official  life,  and  pre- 
sented a  model  of  exemplariness  which  is  rarely  exceeded.  When  at 
home,  nothing  but  infirmity  in  himself  or  family  was  ever  permitted  to  de- 
tain him  from  the  services  of  the  sanctuary,  and  other  stated  or  occasional 
gatherings  for  Christian  culture,  or  the  promotion  of  the  general  inter- 
ests of  morality  and  religion,  and  usually  he  was  prompt  to  render  such 
counsel  and  aid  as  the  case  might  require.     A  distinguishing  element 


HOS.    PETER    HITCHCOCK,  OF    OHIO  197 

in  his  Christian,  as  well  as  judicial  character,  was  a  steadfast  integrit) 
in  obeying  his  convictions  oi'  duty.  Though  no  stranger  to  deep  reli- 
gious sensibility,  the  fitful  impulses  of  emotion  were  not  needed  to 
arouse  him  to  action. 

He  was  the  hearty  and  liberal  friend  and  patron  of  the  leading  be- 
nevolent enterprises  of  the  day  ;  and  though  sometimes  reproached 
with  an  unduly  cautious,  and  obstinate  conservatism,  few  have  had 
more  nearly  at  heart  the  best  interests  of  humanity,  or  more  sincerely 
wished  success  to  every  judicious  efibrt  for  its  elevation  and  improve- 
ment. 

In  deportment,  he  was  reserved  and  unassuming  ;  in  taste  and  feel- 
ing opposed  to  artificial  parade  and  show  ;  a  lover  of  republican  sim- 
plicity of  style  and  manners  ;  but  at  the  same  time,  a  pattern  of  gener- 
ous and  hearty  hospitality.  By  many  who  viewed  him  at  a  distance 
he  was  regarded  cold,  and  unsocial ;  but  a  more  intimate  acquaintance 
disclosed  a  heart  glowing  with  all  the  genial  sympathies  of  love  and 
friendship.  The  needy  and  afflicted  ever  found  in  him  a  judicious 
and  kind  benefactor  and  counsellor.  His  reproofs  and  sarcasms  some- 
times fell  upon  the  misdoings  and  follies  of  those  around  him  with 
withering  power,  but  usually  his  intercourse  with  others  was  marked 
with  great  comity,  and  a  tender  regard  for  their  feelings.  Ever  ready 
to  bestow  his  influence  and  active  aid  to  promote  the  personal  and 
social  welfare  of  those  around  him,  his  removal  has  left  a  vacuum  in 
the  neighborhood  circle  of  his  late  residence,  which  will  long  be  pain- 
fully felt. 

His  social  attachments  were  unselfish,  enduring,  and  practical  ;  kni 
everything  within  his  power  which  the  subjects  of  them  might  need, 
was  ever  freely  and  cheerfully  bestowed  ;  and  the  gratification  he 
evinced  when  the  welfare  of  friends  was  thus  promoted,  presented  a 
beautiful  illustration  of  the  Divine  saying — "  It  is  more  blessed  to 
give  than  to  receive." 

His  domestic  affections  were  especially  strong  and  tender.  The 
bosom  of  his  well-ordered  and  intelligent  family  was  emphatically  the 
earthly  home  of  his  soul,  his  cherished  and  earnestly-coveted  retreat 
from  the  cares  and  toils  of  public  lifei  In  the  relations  of  husband 
and  father,  he  was  ever  the  faithful,  considerate,  and  affectionate  coun- 
sellor, guardian,  and  guide.  Controlling  his  children  with  a  mild  yet 
firm  discipline,  savoring  not  less  of  reason  and  love  than  of  authority, 
he  won  to  himself,  in  an  eminent  degree,  not  only  their  respect  and 
veneration,  but  their  confidence  and  love.  Deeming  preparation  for 
practical  usefulness  in  life  the  best  patrimony  he  could  leave  them,  he 
directed  his  efforts  in  their  behalf  not  to  the  amassing  of  wealth,  but 
to  the  bestowal  of  that  mental  and  moral  discipline  and  training  which 
should  qualify  them  to  be  the  artificers  of  their  own  fortune,  and  sus- 
tain with  success  and  honor  the  responsibilities  of  life.  And  in  this 
he  had  his  reward.  He  lived  to  see  his  seven  surviving  children, 
three  sons  and  four  daughters,  all  settled  in  life,  and  occupying  posi- 
tions of  respectability  and  usefulness,  and,  what  was  yet  more  grateful 
to  his  heart,  all  professed  followers  of  the  Saviour.  The  two  eldest  of 
these  sons  were  educated  at  Yale  College,  and  one  of  them  is  now  a 
Judge  of  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas  in  one  of  the  judicial  districts  of 


198  SKETCHES    OF    EMINENT    AMERICANS. 

tho  State  ;  the  other  a  minister  of  the  Gospel,  and  pastor  of  one  of  the 
churches  in  Columbus,  Ohio.  The  youngest  son  is  a  farmer,  and  oc- 
cupies the  old  homestead. 

Full  to  overflowing  was  the  cup  of  earthly  ha])piness  of  the  venera- 
ble father,  when,  in  later  years.  Providence  permitted  a  family  gathering 
around  his  hearth-stone,  to  mingle  mutual  sympathies  and  congratula- 
tions, and  join  in  prayer  and  praise  to  the  Father  of  Mercies.  Never 
will  those  thrilling  interviews  and  seasons  of  prayer  be  forgotten  by 
any  who  were  favored  with  the  privilege  of  participating  in  them.  From 
the  heart  of  his  children  never  will  be  efiaced  the  memory  of  paternal 
fidelity,  tenderness,  and  wisdom,  with  which  he  watched  and  guided 
their  early  ways,  until  they  were  prepared  to  assume  for  themselves 
the  responsibilities  of  life  ;  and  painfully  will  they  miss  the  counsel 
which,  in  their  riper  years,  they  were  wont  to  seek  at  his  lips. 

He  was  privileged  not  to  outlive  his  activity  and  usefulness,  but  to 
fall  at  the  post  of  duty,  in  the  unabated  vigor  of  his  strong  intellect. 
Early  in  December  last,  he  repaired  to  Columbus  to  attend  the  annual 
session  of  the  Supreme  Court.  He  was  retained  in  some  cases  of 
importance,  and  one  in  particular  which  required  profound  eflbrt  in  the 
preparation  of  the  argument.  His  intense  application  developed  and 
aggravated  disease  of  the  liver,  to  which  he  was  predisposed  ;  and 
that  induced  ulceration  of  the  larger  intestines,  which  was  the  imme- 
diate cause  of  his  death.  The  symptoms,  however,  were  not  suffi- 
ciently striking  to  alarm,  or  cause  him  to  suspend  his  labors,  until  it 
was  too  late  for  remedial  aid. 

His  debility  gradually  increasing,  he  left  Columbus  February  21st, 
and  arrived  at  his  son's,  the  Hon.  Reuben  Hitchcock,  in  Painesville, 
the  same  day.  Though  extremely  anxious  to  reach  his  home,  his  fail- 
ing strength  forbade  it.  From  this  time  he  declined  rapidly.  Stupor, 
and  slight  wandering  of  mind  supervened,  and  prevented  his  having 
much  conversation  with  his  friends.  On  the  morning  of  the  4th  of 
March,  the  entire  family  having  arrived,  Mrs.  Hitchcock,  with  some 
difficulty,  aroused  him  to  consciousness,  and  remarked,  "  Our  children 
are  all  with  us  now."  He  replied,  "Oh,  my  children  !  all  be  Chris- 
tians." This  was  his  last  utterance.  A  farewell  more  characteristic 
of  the  Christian  father,  or  more  worthy  of  the  occasion,  could  not 
have  been  chosen.  After  this,  he  lingered  in  great  agony  until  about 
iwo  o'clock,  P.  M.,  when  he  gently  fell  asleep  in  death. 

His  remains  were  conveyed  to  Benton  ;  and  on  the  following  Sab- 
bath, a  large  and  deeply-affected  concourse  of  people  attended  a  fune- 
ral service  at  the  church  where  he  had  been  accustomed  to  worship, 
and  followed  him  to  the  grave. 

The  light  of  his  active  usefulness  and  living  example  in  Church 
and  State  is  extinct ;  but  a  precious  legacy  remains,  for  "  the  memory 
of  the  just  is  blessed." 

The  news  of  his  decease,  as  it  spread  through  the  State,  produced 
a  deep  sensation,  as  it  called  i'orth  such  expressions  of  regret,  of  afl'ec- 
tionate  remembrance,  and  of  esteem,  as  might  be  expected  on  the 
death  of  so  great  and  so  good  a  man.  In  the  principal  cities  in  the 
State  and  counties  where  courts  were  in  session,  meetings  of  the  bar 
were  held,  addresses  made,  and  appropriate  resolutions  adopted. 


HON.  PETER  HITCHCOCK,  OF   OHIO.  199 

The  resolutions  adopted  in  Mulhenning  county  were  presented  to 
the  court,  by  Judge  Birchard,  who  had  in  1842,  been  the  opposing  and 
successful  candidate  in  opposition  to  him  for  election  to  the  Supreme 
Bench,  and  who  afterwards  served  as  associate  with  him  for  several 
years.  On  moving  that  these  resolutions  be  entered  on  the  journals 
of  the  court,  judge  Birchard,  among  other  remarks  made,  bore  the  fol- 
lowing honorable  testimony  to  the  character  of  the  deceased  : — 

"  I  feel  that  in  the  loss  of  such  a  man  society  has  cause  to  mourn. 
It  has  been  bereft  of  an  experienced,  learned,  able  jurist ;  of  one 
patient,  careful,  and  untiring  in  his  investigations,  and  as  I  think,  of 
great  integrity.  In  the  varied  relations  which  he  and  I  have  occupied, 
placed  as  we  have  been,  in  opposition  to  each  other  by  our  political 
friends  as  candidates  for  the  honors  of  the  Supreme  Bench,  and  radi- 
cally differing,  as  we  often  did,  upon  many  of  the  exciting  political 
questions  which  have  agitated  the  people  of  the  Union  within  the  last 
twenty  years,  and  changing,  as  you  are  aware  we  have,  our  relative  posi- 
tion from  the  bar  to  the  bench,  and  from  the  bench  to  the  bar,  and  finally 
for  a  series  of  years  being  brought  into  intimate  relation  as  members 
of  the  same  court,  I  have  had  means  of  knowing  Judge  Hitchcock, 
such  as  few  men  possess.  I  speak  not  to  create  fame  for  the  dead, 
that  was  unmerited  in  life — there  is  no  need  of  that.  -The  proceedings 
of  the  Legislature  Avhen  he  was  a  member,  and  of  Constitutional  Con- 
vention, bear  some  evidence  of  the  ability  of  the  man,  and  the  first 
twenty  volumes  of  the  Ohio  reports,  will  carry  down  to  posterity  full 
and  ample  testimony  of  his  learning,  his  sound  judgment,  and  patient 
and  careful  industry  as  a  jurist ;  to  him  a  memento  of  fame  more  last- 
ing than  monuments  of  brass  or  marble. 

"  In  recurring  to  the  years  of  our  acquaintance,  now  more  than  a 
quarter  of  a  century,  I  cannot  recall  to  mind  an  act  of  the  great  man 
who  has  fallen,  that  would  tend  to  mar  the  beauty  of  his  character, 
public  or  private  ;  I  know  of  none.  A  man  of  strong  intellect,  he  na- 
turally was  fixed  in  his  opinions,  when  once  deliberately  formed.  But 
I  ever  found  him  patient,  and  cool  in  investigation,  free  to  consult,  free 
to  consider  the  suggestions  of  others,  free  to  trace  out  a  point  of  differ- 
ence, free  to  place  another  in  full  possession  of  the  exact  position 
upon  which  he  predicated  a  conclusion  ;  and  if  the  ground  of  his  argu- 
ment ever  failed  him,  he  was  always  of  too  proud  an  intellect  to  at- 
tempt to  sustain  his  favorite  conclusion  by  seizing  a  false  premise.  In 
fine,  he  was  a  man,  that  not  only  invariably  aimed  to  do  right,  but 
his  mind  was  so  formed,  as  to  be  admirably  well  calculated  to  come 
to  the  knowledge  of  the  right. 

"  So  long  as  his  own  convictions  of  duty  were  clear  and  unshaken 
it  was  impossible  to  move  him.  Popular  prejudice  might  be  against 
him,  but  its  force  would  seem  to  be  spent  with  as  little  effect,  as  the 
ocean  wave  has  before  the  granite  of  its  own  beaten  shore  This 
was  the  general  character  of  the  man.  It  enabled  him  to  hold,  on  ex- 
citing occasions  the  '  even  scales  of  justice,'  with  a  firmer  hand  than 
any  man  with  whom  I  was  ever  brought  in  contact.  An  apparently 
cold  exterior,  and  sometimes  an  abrupt  manner  of  speaking,  have 
doubtless  sometimes  given   offence  to  those   who  did  not  thoroughly 


200  SKETCHES  OF  EMINENT  AMERICANS. 

understand,  that  within  that  bosom  beat  the  kindliest  sympathies,  and 
yet  his  was  a  bosom  that  possessed  such  sympathies. 

Much  might,  be  said  of  his  personal  and  private  character,  but  I 
am  admonished  to  forbear,  since  my  tribute  can  add  but  little  to  the 
honor  of  one  who  was  beloved  by  all  who  knew  him. 

The  resolutions  adopted  by  the  bar  in  Cleveland,  are  a  fair  speci- 
men of  those  adopted  elsewhere  in  the  State — they  are  as  fol- 
low : — 

"  Whereas  authentic  intelligence  has  been  received  of  the  death  of 
our  distinguished  friend  and  fellow-citizen,  Peter  Hitchcock,  of 
Geauga — a  man  who,  during  a  period  of  forty  years,  has  been  eminent 
in  this  State  for  his  ability  and  usefulness,  in  almost  every  department 
of  the  public  service — 

"  And  whereas  the  members  of  this  bar,  deeply  sensible  of  the  loss 
which  the  profession  and  the  public  have  sustained  by  this  dispensa- 
tion of  Divine  Providence,  are  desirous  of  giving  utterance  to  their 
sorrow,  as  well  as  of  publicly  testifying  their  regard  for  the  memory  of 
a  great  and  good  man — 

"Therefore,  Resolved, — That,  in  the  death  of  Peter  Hitchcock  we  de- 
plore the  loss  of  a  patriot  distinguished  for  his  advocacy  of  popular 
rights,  and  for  his  attachment  to  free  institutions  ;  of  a  legislator  emi- 
nently practical,  wise,  and  sagacious  ;  of  a  judge,  unsurpassed  in  inte- 
grity, in  firmness,  in  strength  and  grasp  of  mind,  in  clearness  of  per- 
ception, and  freedom  from  extraneous  influences,  and  who,  in  the 
combination  of  qualities  that  go  to  make  up  a  great  judicial  character, 
has  probably  never  been  equalled  among  the  jurists  of  this  State  ;  of 
a  faithful  public  servant,  Avhose  agency  is  perceivable  in  everything 
that  has  imparted  value  to  legislation,  or  inspired  confidence  in  judi- 
cial action  ;  whose  usefulness  is  to  be  measured,  not  only  by  the  posi- 
tive good  that  he  has  done,  but  by  the  evil  that  he  has  prevented  ;  who, 
beyond  any  other  man,  has  impressed  his  mind  and  character  upon  the 
institutions  of  the  State  ;  and  who,  as  much  as  any  other,  is  entitled 
to  be  held  in  grateful  remembrance  by  the  people  of  Ohio. 

"  Resolved, — That  the  proceedings  of  this  meeting  be  published  m 
the  daily  papers  of  the  city  ;  and  that  a  copy  thereof  be  forwarded  to 
the  family  of  the  deceased,  as  expressive  of  the  respectful  condolence 
of  this  bar  in  their  afflictive  bereavement." 

At  the  time  of  Judge  Hitchcock's  decease,  the  legislature  of  the 
State  was  in  Session,  and  before  its  adjournment  adopted  the  following 
joint  resolutions : — 

"  Whereas  we  have  heard  with  the  deepest  concern  of  the  death 
of  the  Hon.  Peter  Hitchcock,  late  Chief  Justice  of  the  Supreme  Court 
of  the  State  :  And  Whereas  the  deceased,  by  his  long,  faithful,  and 
distinguished  public  services,  has  endeared  himself  to  the  people  of 
Ohio  :   Therefore,  be  it 

"  Resolved,  by  the  General  Assembly  of  the  State  of  Ohio,  That  in 


HON.    PETER    HITCHCOCK,    OF    OHIO.  201 

the  death  of  the  Hon.  Peter  Hitchcock,  the  State  has  lost  an  able 
jurist  and  faithful  public  sei'vant,  and  society  an  honorable  and  useful 
citizen — 

"  Resolved, — That  Ave  deeply  sympathize  with  the  family  of  the  de- 
ceased in  their  sad  bereavement. 

"  Resolved, — That  the  Governor  be  requested  to  transmit  a  copy  of 
the  foregoing  resolutions  to  the  family  of  the  deceased." 

These  testimonials  show  most  clearly  the  estimation  in  which  Judge 
Hitchcock  was  held  by  the  people  of  his  adopted  State,  and  that  by 
his  death  she  lost  one  of  her  greatest — one  of  her  best  men. 

But  his  memory  still  lives.  The  impression  made  by  him  upon  her 
institutions,  and  upon  society,  still  remains  ;  and  the  influence  of  his 
example  and  his  active  life  will  not  cease  with  the  present  generation, 
but  will  long  continue  its  efl'ect  for  good. 


Jiugiiy  H.i;,Jii: 


■.~?.'rS2ri2:jVT  OJr  TICE   TINITEJD  STATES. 


FRANKLIN    PIERCE,  OF    NEW    HAMPSIIIIIE.  203 

FRANKLIN    PIERCE, 

PRESIDENT     OF     THE     IINITED      STATES, 

In  commencing  the  brief  sketch  of  the  life  of  the  distinguished  indivi- 
dual so  recently  elected  the  Chief  Magistrate  of  this  Great  Republic,  it  is 
proper  to  state  that  we  have  derived  many  of  our  facts  from  the  work  of 
his  biographer  and  friend,  Nathaniel  Hawthorne,  whose  authentic'  life  of 
Franklin  Pierce  may  be  deemed  the  best  authority  from  which  to  frame 
a  notice  of  our  subject.  But,  for  the  remarks  at  the  close  of  this  sketch, 
upon  the  character  of  General  Pierce,  we  alone  are  responsible. 

His  father — Benjamin  Pierce — was  born  in  the  year  lYsY,  at  the  vil- 
lage of  Chelmsford — now  the  flourishing  manufacturing  city  of  Lowell — 
in  Massachusetts,  Having  had  tlie  misfortune  to  lose  both  his  parents  in 
early  life,  he  became  the  ward  of  an  uncle,  under  whom  he  was  brought 
up  to  the  frugal  lot  of  a  New  England  farmer's  boy  in  those  early  days. 

When  but  eighteen  years  old,  whilst  at  the  plough,  the  news  reached 
him  of  the  massacres  of  Lexington  and  Concord,  and  leaving  the  share  in 
the  unfinished  furrow,  he  hastily  seized  his  uncle's  gun  and  equipments, 
resolving  to  avenge  the  blood  of  these  martyrs,  or  add  his  own  to  his 
country's  cause. 

He  enlisted  in  the  continental  army,  and  was  present  as  a  private  in 
its  ranks  at  the  bloody  action  of  Bunker's  Hill. 

He  served  throughout  the  whole  of  the  Revolutionary  War,  and 
returned  at  the  end  of  seven  years,  the  commander  of  a  company.  He 
was  retained  in  the  army  until  its  final  disbandment  at  West  Point  in 
1784,  and  then  retired;  his  only  reward,  the  consciousness  of  having 
well  performed  the  patriot's  duty;  his  rank,  and  his  pay  in  the  conti- 
nental currency,  then  almost  worthless. 

In  the  spring  of  1786,  he  built  himself  a  log  cabin,  and  commenced 
the  clearing  and  cultivation  of  a  tract  of  wild  land,  which  he  had  pur- 
chased in  the  preceding  year,  whilst  employed  as  agent  to  explore  the 
district,  in  the  midst  of  which  now  stands  the  town  of  Hillsborough.  In 
the  succeeding  year,  he'  took  to  his  new  home,  as  a  wife,  Elizabeth  An- 
drews, in  whose  companionship  his  enjoyment  was  brief,  for  she  died  within 
that  year,  leaving  to  his  charge  a  daughter — the  present  widow  of  General 
John  McNeil.  In  1789,  he  married  Anna  Kendrick,  who  was  his  loving 
helpmate  in  his  prime  and  through  his  declining  years,  and  who  bore  him 
eight  children,  of  whom  his  present  illustrious  son  was  the  sixth. 

We  must  beg  the  patience  of  the  reader  to  allow  us  the  pleasing  task 
of  dwelling  for  a  few  moments  longer  upon  the  incidents  of  the  life  of  this 
revolutionary  hero  ;  and  not  the  less  for  the  reason  that  his  position  as 
parent  to  the  personage  of  whom  we  shall  dire(;tly  speak,  is  strikingly 
illustrative  of  the  fact  of  hereditary  greatness. 

Wliilst  engaged  in  clearing  his  wild  lands,  and  performing  the  first 
acts  of  civilization  in  a  portion  of  his  state  then  so  little  known,  that 
he  had  been  commissioned  to  ex2)lore  it  in  1786,  he  received  the  appoint- 
ment of  Brigade-major  of  the  mihtia  of  Hillsborough  county,  then 
first  organized.     In  1789,  he  was  elected  to  the  State  Legislature,  in 


204  SKETCHES    OF    EMINENT    AMERICANS. 

which  body  he  held  his  seat  for  thirteen  successive  years,  until  chosen  a 
Member  of  the  Council ;  during  this  period,  however,  he  did  not  neglect 
his  military  duties,  but  became  a  Field  Officer,  and  finally  General  of  the 
militia  of  the  county.  In  1801 — to  show  the  estimation  in  which  his 
military  talents  were  held  during  the  administration  of  the  elder  Adams — 
he  was  offered  a  high  command  in  the  northern  division  of  the  army 
which  was  proposed  to  be  levied  in  anticipation  of  a  war  with  France  ; 
but  ever  faithful  to  his  principles,  and  inflexibly  democratic  in  his  political 
faith,  he  refused  to  be  implicated  in  a  policy  which  he  could  not  approve, 
and  his  answer  to  the  gentlemen  who  pressed  his  acceptance  of  the  com- 
mission, should  be  emblazoned  in  letters  of  gold,  and  placed  conspicuously 
before  his  countrymen.  "  No,"  replied  the  patriot,  "  poor  as  I  am,  and 
acceptable  as  Avould  be  the  position  under  other  circumstances,  I  would 
sooner  go  to  yonder  mountain,  dig  me  a  cave,  and  live  on  roast  potatoes, 
than  be  instrumental  in  promoting  the  objects  for  which  that  army  is  to 
be  raised  !"  And  it  is  a  singular  fact  that  the  same  simile  should  have 
served  another  patiiot — the  partisan  Marion — to  illustrate  his  devotion  to 
his  principles,  when  overtures  were  made  to  him  by  British  officers. 

Another  touching  incident  is  related  of  him.  On  the  26th  of  December, 
1825 — it  being  his  sixty-seventh  birth-day — he  had  prepared  a  festival 
for  his  comrades  in  arms — the  survivors  of  the  Revolution — eighteen  of 
whom,  all  inhabitants  of  Hillsborough,  assembled  at  his  house.  They 
spent  the  day  in  festivity,  reviewing  the  great  deeds  they  had  witnessed 
and  helped  to  do,  and  in  reviving  the  old  sentiments  of  the  era  of  seventy- 
six.  At  nightfall,  after  a  manly  and  pathetic  farewell  from  their  host, 
they  separated,  "  prepared" — as  the  old  General  expressed  it — "  at  the 
first  tap  of  the  shrouded  drum,  to  move  and  join  their  beloved  Washing- 
ton, and  the  rest  of  their  comrades  who  had  fought  and  bled  at  their 
sides." 

In  1827,  General  Benjamin  Pierce  was  elected  Governor  of  the  state 
of  New  Hampshire.  In  1839,  he  died  at  the  mansion  he  had  built 
after  the  original  log  cabin  had  become  too  small  for  his  rising  family 
and  fortunes.  After  having  been  spared  to  behold  the  distinction  of  his 
son,  he  departed  this  life  at  the  ripe  age  of  eighty-one,  in  perfect  peace, 
and,  until  within  a  few  hours  of  his  death,  in  the  full  possession  of  his 
intellectual  powers. 

'  How  sleep  the  dead,  who  sink  to  rest 
With  all  their  country's  honors  blest  ?" 

Franklin  Pierce  was  born  at  Hillsborough,  New  Hampshire,  on  the 
23d  day  of  November,  1804,  and,  upon  his  election  to  the  Presidency, 
had  just  reached  his  forty-eighth  year. 

At  the  time  of  his  birth,  and  for  years  after,  his  father  was  the  most 
active  and  public-spirited  man  within  his  sphere,  and,  from  what  we  have 
set  down  as  the  character  of  General  Benjamin  Pierce,  it  may  well  be 
said,  "  If  any  man  is  bound,  by  birth  and  youthful  training,  to  show  him- 
self a  brave,  faithful,  and  able  citizen  of  his  native  country,  it  is  the  son 
of  such  a  father." 

At  the  commencement  of  the  war  of  1812,  Franklin  Pierce  was  about 
eight  y^ars  of  age ;  his  two  brothers  were  in  the  army,  and  his  half-sister 


FRANKLIN    PIERCE,  OF    NEW    HAMPSHIRE.  205 

soon  after  became  tlie  Avife  of  Major  McNeil.  As  Lis  father,  both  in 
his  public  capacity  as  a  Member  of  the  Council,  and  by  his  great  local  in- 
fluence in  his  own  county,  lent  a  strenuous  support  to  the  national  ad- 
ministration, and  not  only  took  a  prominent  part  in  all  public  meetings, 
but  was  ever  ready  for  the  informjil  discussion  of  political  afl'airs  at  places 
of  casual  resort,  it  is  not  strange  that  his  son,  in  hearing  these  discussions, 
and  listening  to  the  argument  of  his  venerated  sire,  should  have  become 
deeply  imbued  with  the  principles  and  sentiment  of  democratic  institu- 
tions. 

His  father  having  felt  the  disadvantages  of  a  defective  education,  deter- 
mined to  aftbrd  his  son  all  the  opportunities  himself  had  lacked,  and  sent 
him  early  to  the  Academy  of  Hancock,  and  afterwards  placed  him  in  that 
of  Francestown,  where  he  resided  in  the  family  of  Peter  Woodbury,  the 
father  of  the  late  eminent  judge. 

He  entered  Bowdoin  College  at  Brunswick,  Maine,  in  1820 ;  and 
amongst  his  fellow  students  and  associates  were  men  who  have  since  made 
their  mark  high  in  the  niche  of  fame ;  it  will  be  sufficient  to  name  Pro- 
fessor Stowe,  Nathaniel  Hawthorne,  the  pious  Caldwell,  and  the  chival- 
rous and  lamented  Cilley.  At  this  College,  with  such  men  as  these  for 
competitors,  he  took  a  highly  creditable  degree.  He  was  here  the  Chair- 
man of  the  Athenian  Society,  and  first  displayed  his  inclination  for  the 

"  Pomp  and  circumstance  of  glorious  war," 

as  an  oflScer  of  a  military  company  composed  of  his  fellow  collegians. 

Nor  is  it  to  his  discredit  to  state,  that,  like  Webster,  and  nearly  all  the 
distinguished  men  of  the  region  from  which  he  sprang,  he  taught  a 
country  school  during  one  of  his  winter  vacations  :  kings  have  learned  to 
rule  from  as  humble  a  sphere,  for 

"  Men  are  but  children  of  an  older  growth." 

After  leaving  college,  Franklin  Pierce  became  a  student  of  law  in  the 
office  of  Judge  Woodbury  of  Portsmouth,  from  thence  he  went  to  the 
Law  School  at  Northampton  in  Massachusetts,  and  finished  his  prepara- 
tory studies  in  the  office  of  Judge  Parker  at  Amherst.  In  the  year  1827 
he  was  admitted  to  the  bai-,  and  began  to  practise  in  his  native  town.  He 
was  not  very  successful  in  his  earliest  cases,  but  a  proof  of  his  indomitable, 
will  and  self-rehance  is  recorded  in  the  remark  made  by  him  to  a  friend 
who  wished  to  console  him  on  the  loss  of  a  case  :  "  I  will  try  nine  hun- 
dred and  ninety-nine  cases,  and  if  I  fail,  just  as  I  have  to-day,  I  will  try 
the  thousandth."  He  felt  the  strength  within  him — he  knew  that  time 
would  bring  it  out. 

In  1829  he  was  elected  a  Representative  of  his  native  town  to  the  Le- 
gislature of  the  State.  He  served  in  that  body  four  years,  the  last  two 
years  as  speaker,  to  which  office  he  was  chosen  by  a  vote  greater  than 
two  thirds. 

He  was  sent  to  the  Congi-ess  of  the  United  States  in  1833,  and  his  Con- 
gressional life,  though  it  made  but  little  show,  was  full  of  labor  directed  to 
substantial  objects.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Judiciary  and  other  impor- 
tant Committees ;  and  the  drudgery  of  the  Committee  room,  where  so 


206  SKETCHES    OP   EMINENT   AMERICANS. 

much  of  the  real  public  business  of  the  country  is  performed,  fell  in  large 
measure  to  his  lot.  General  Jackson,  the  man  of  liis  choice,  and  to  whom 
his  first  political  faith  had  been  given,  when  a  youthful  combatant  he  had 
entered  the  political  arena,  then  occupied  the  Presidential  Chair,  and  to 
the  sustaining  of  his  measures  were  all  his  powers  exerted ;  and,  in  after 
years,  when  the  Old  Hero  was  about  passing  away,  he  remarked,  as  if  a 
ghmpse  of  the  future  had  been  granted  to  him,  and  his  enlarged  vision 
then  comprehended  what  has  since  come  to  pass,  "  The  interests  of  the 
country  will  be  safe  in  the  hands  of  Franklin  Pierce." 

He  continued  in  the  House  of  Representatives  four  years,  and  in  1837 
was  elected  to  the  Senate  ;  and  after  performing  services  there,  for  which 
his  country  has  proved  herself  grateful,  in  June,  1842,  he  resigned  his  seat 
and  retired  to  the  sweets  of  domestic  life,  taldng  up  again  his  profession 
to  repair  by  its  practice  the  inroads  which  the  public  service  had  made 
upon  his  means.  In  1834  he  had  married  a  daughter  of  the  Rev.  Doctor 
Appleton,  a  former  President  of  Bowdoin  College.  Three  sons  had  now 
been  born  to  him,  and  to  this  increase  of  family,  and  his  well  known  pre- 
dilection for  a  domestic  life,  may  be  attributed  his  sudden  and  unlooked 
for  resignation  of  the  honorable  position  of  Senator,  which  upon  its  an- 
nouncement filled  the  Senate  Chamber  with  surprise,  and  in  its  fulfilment 
left  a  void  in  that  body  long  sensibly  felt. 

In  1838  he  removed  from  Hillsborough  to  Concord,  where  he  sedu- 
lously applied  himself  to  the  duties  of  his  profession,  and  where  he  fulfilled 
the  promise  of  his  youth.  Nor  had  he  now  occasion  to  "  try  again ;" — he 
had  foimd  the  strength,  he  then  knew  he  possessed — time  and  application 
had  brought  it  out — and  his  reputation  as  a  lawyer  is  surpassed  by  none 
in  a  state  where  such  a  standing  is  not  easily  obtained. 

In  1846  he  was  offered  by  President  Polk  the  post  of  Attorney-Gene- 
ral of  the  United  States,  which  he  modestly  declined  in  consideration  of 
the  interests  of  his  clients,  and  the  health  of  Mrs.  Pierce,  thus  showing  his 
devotion  to  those  who  had  intrusted  their  affairs  to  his  keeping ;  and  that 
most  beautiful  trait  of  his  character,  which  is  in  accordance  with  the 
whole  tenor  of  his  life. 

He  had  previously  been  tendered  by  the  Governor  the  appointment  of 
U.  S.  Senator,  which  he  had  declined  for  similar  reasons ;  and  as  if 
fortune  would  still  persist  in  thrusting  honors  upon  him,  he  was  nomi- 
nated by  a  democratic  convention  for  Governor,  and  again  refused  the  dis- 
tinction. 

In  his  letter  to  President  Polk,  declining  the  Attorney-Generalship, 
this  passage  occurs :  "When  I  resigned  my  seat  in  the  Senate  in  1842,  I 
did  so  with  the  fixed  purpose  never  again  to  be  voluntarily  separated  from 
my  family  for  any  considerable  length  of  time,  except  at  the  call  of  my 
country  in  time  of  war."  And  this  contingency  did  soon  present  itself, 
for  shortly  after,  in  1847,  when  the  State  of  New  Hampshire  was  .called 
upon  to  furnish  its  proportion  of  troops  for  the  Mexican  War,  Mr.  Pierce, 
true  to  his  pledge  and  democratic  principles,  enrolled  himself  a  member 
of  one  of  the  first  Volunteer  Companies  of  Concord,  and  performed  the 
duties  of  a  private  in  the  ranks.  Merit  like  his,  however,  could  not  long 
remain  concealed,  and  on  the  passage  of  the  Bill  for  the  increase  of  the 
army,  he  received  the  appointment  of  Colonel  of  the  Ninth  Regiment, 
which  was  the  quota  of  New  England  towards  the  ten  regiments  to  be 


FRANKLIN    TIERCE,  OF    NEW    HAMPSHIRE.  207 

raised ;  aud  in  March  of  the  same  year  was  commissioned  Brigadier-Gene- 
ral in  the  Army. 

On  tlie  27th  of  May  he  embarked  at  Newport  with  his  command,  and 
after  a  tedious  passage  of  thirty  days,  arrived  at  Vera  Cruz,  where  he 
found  that  dreadful  scourge — the  Vomito — raging  violently.  Anxious  for 
the  health  of  his  men,  he  had  them  conveyed  directly  from  the  transports 
to  Viraga — an  extensive  sandy  beach  upon  the  gulf,  about  two  miles  be- 
yond the  walls  of  the  city.  From  hence  he  found  great  dilRculty  in  taking 
up  his  line  of  march,  a  stampede  having  taken  place  among  the  mules 
collected  for  his  train,  in  which  some  fifteen  hundred  were  lost.  On  the 
16th  of  July,  after  a  delay  of  nearly  three  weeks,  during  which  time 
many  of  his  best  oflBcers  and  men  were  victims  to  the  Vomito,  he  started 
for  the  main  army,  with  animals  so  intractable  that  he  was  only  able  to 
advance  a  few  miles  before  darkness  compelled  him  to  bivouac  for  the 
safety  of  his  train.  The  next  morning  he  commenced  his  march  at  four 
o'clock,  and  reached  Santa  Fe  at  eight,  where,  finding  the  heat  too  oppres- 
sive for  both  men  and  beasts,  he  remained  in  camp  until  four  P.M.,  when 
he  pushed  on,  and  arrived  at  San  Juan  the  same  evening,  in  the  midst  of 
a  drenching  rain. 

In  his  march  from  Telema  Nueva  to  the  Puente  Nacionale  he  had  an 
engagement  with  the  Guerillas,  in  which  he  speaks  highly  of  the  con- 
duct of  his  men,  then  for  the  first  time  under  fire.  The  enemy's  loss  was 
set  down  by  themselves  at  forty,  whilst  of  his  command  but  six  were 
wounded  and  "seven  horses  killed.  This  action  was  creditable  to  his  skill 
as  a  general,  not  only  in  regard  to  the  superiority  of  the  force  he  repulsed 
— for  the  whole  country,  as  far  back  as  Jalapa,  was  swarming  with  these 
independent  warriors,  intimate  with  every  mountain  path  and  secret 
defile — but  also  as  to  the  manner  in  which  his  troops  were  placed,  as 
shown  in  the  small  loss  sustained. 

At  the  National  Bridge  he  again  found  the  enemy  prepared  to  dispute 
his  progress,  having  thrown  a  barricade  across  the  bridge,  and  making  a 
strong  demonstration  in  the  village  beyond,  where  their  lancers  were  in 
position.  These,  however,  were  soon  dispersed,  and  he  took  possession 
of  the  village,  locating  his  head-quarters  at  one  of  the  splendid  villas  of 
Santa  Anna. 

During  the  action  he  had  a  ^very  narrow  escape,  an  escopete  ball 
removing  the  rim  of  his  sombrero,  which  he  only  notices  from  the  incon- 
venience of  "  leaving  his  head  exposed  to  the  rays  of  the  sun." 

At  the  Plan  del  Rio  he  found  the  entire  main  arch  of  the  \iaduct  blown 
up,  and  a  span  of  about  sixty  feet  removed ;  this  difiicuity  he  soon 
overcame,  and  in  less  than  four  hours  a  road  was  constructed  over  which 
the  men  and  waggons  passed  safelv. 

From  Plan  del  Rio  he  proceeded  to  Jalapa,  which  was  reached  on  the 
25th  of  July,  and  thence  he  continued  on  to  La  Hoya,  where  he 
arrived  on  the  29th,  without  molestation.  But  now  the  effects  of  the 
climate,  exposure,  and  improper  indulgence  in  fruit,  which  the  strictest 
discipline  could  not  prevent  their  obtaining,  began  to  tell  terribly  on  his 
troops,  anil  over  four  hundred  of  his  command  were  upon  the  sick  list. 
On  the  first  of  August,  he  encamped  under  the  walls  of  the  castle  of 
Perote,  where  he  halted  several  days  to  repair  damages,  procure  supplies, 
and  give  rest  to  his  troops.     He  left  his  sick  at  the  castle,  receiving  from 


208  SKETCHES    OF    EMINENT    AMERICANS. 

the  garrison  an  equal  number  of  convalescents,  and  having  thus  recruited 
his  command,  reached  the  main  army  at  Puebla  on  the  7th  of  August, 
with  twenty-four  hundred  men,  in  fine  order,  and  without  the  loss  of  a 
single  waggon. 

Upon  tiie  arrival  of  this  reinforcement,  General  Scott  broke  up  his  camp, 
and  began  his  march  upon  the  Capital. 

On  the  19tli  the  sanguinary  conflict  of  Contreras  took  place.  In  this 
action,  whilst  a  portion  of  the  American  forces  were  ordered  to  move 
against  the  left  flank  of  the  Mexican  army,  then  in  strong  position  under 
Valencia,  to  divert  his  attention  from  their  movements,  a  vigorous  assault 
was  made  upon  his  front,  and  General  Pierce's  brigade  was  included  in 
the  attacking  party.  The  assault,  at  first  intended  as  a  partial  demonstra- 
tion, was  so"  desperately  resisted,  that  it  soon  became  a  severe  engage- 
ment,— and,  as  the  Mexican  artillery  in  full  force,  and  sti'ongly  entrenched, 
poured  showers  of  round  shot,  grape,  cannister,  and  shell,  upon  the  little 
bands  of  Americans,  who,  from  the  nature  of  the  ground  were  unable  to 
bring  their  artillery  to  bear,  their  position  assumed  the  character  of  a 
"forlorn  hope." 

General  Pierce,  in  the  midst  of  this  fire,  leaped  his  horse  upon  an 
eminence,  and  addressed  the  troops  as  they  passed — reminding  them  of 
the  honor  of  their  country,  and  of  the  victory  their  steady  valor  would 
contribute  to  achieve.  Pressing  forward  to  the  head  of  the  column,  his 
horse  slipped  among  the  rocks,  thrust  his  foot  into  a  crevice,  and  fell, 
breaking  his  own  leg,  and  crushing  his  rider  heavily  beneath  him. 
When  his  orderly  approached  he  was  stunned  and  nearly  insensible,  and 
being  extricated  from  his  dangerous  position  he  was  found  to  be  severely 
Druised,  and  his  left  knee  badly  sprained  from  the  weight  of  the  animal 
in  falling  upon  it.  "Whilst  his  orderly  was  assisting  him  to  the  shelter 
of  a  projecting  rock,  a  shell  falling  close  beside  them  exploded,  covering 
them  both  with  earth  ;  in  a  calm  tone  General  Pierce  remarked,  "  that 
was  a  lucky  miss." 

Doctor  Ritchie,  attached  to  his  brigade,  was  fortunately  at  hand,  and 
having  administered  to  him  as  well  as  circumstances  would  permit, 
strongly  remonstrated  against  his  rejoining  his  troops  in  such  a  condi- 
tion ;"  but  the  general,  supported  by  his  orderly,  with  great  pain  and 
difficulty  reached  the  battery  of  Caj^ain  McGruder,  where  finding  the 
horse  of  a  wounded  officer,  at  his  own  urgent  request,  he  was  assisted  to 
mount.  In  answer  to  a  remark  that  he  would  be  unable  to  keep  his  seat, 
he  replied  "  then  you  must  tie  me  on,"  and  rode  forward  into  the  battle. 

General  Pierce  remained  in  the  saddle  until  eleven  o'clock  that  night, 
when  beneath  a  torrent  of  rain,  destitute  of  a  tent  or  other  protection, 
without  food  or  refreshment,  he  stretched  himself  upon  an  ammunition 
waggon,  where  he  lay,  prevented  by  the  pain  of  his  wounded  limb  from 
gaining  the  least  repose.  At  early  dawn  he  was  again  in  the  saddle  at 
the  head  of  his  brigade,  which  had  taken  its  former  position  in  front  of 
the  enemy.  Soon  after  the  Mexican  camp  was  stormed,  and  in  the  short 
space  of  seventeen  minutes  had  fallen  into  the  hands  of  its  assailants, 
together  with  a  multitude  of  prisoners. 

The  remnant  of  the  routed  army  fled  towards  Churubusco,  and  Pierce 
led  his  brigade  in  pursuit  until  they  reached  the  strong  positions  there, 
and  at  San  Antonio. 


FRAXKLIX    PIERCE,  OF    NEW    HAMPSHIRE.  209 

As  Santa  Anna,  after  this  defeat,  appeared  to  be  anxious  to  withdraw 
his  force  towards  the  city,  in  order  to  intercept  this  movement,  Pierce's 
brigade,  vvith  other  troops,  was  ordered  to  pursue  a  route  and  attack  the 
enemy  in  the  rear.  When  he  approaclied  the  Commander-in-C!iief  to 
receive  his  orders.  General  Scott  remarked — "  Pierce,  my  dear  fellow, 
you  are  badly  injured,  you  are  not  fit  to  be  in  the  saddle."  "Yes, 
general,  I  am,"  replied  Pierce,  "  in  a  case  like  this."  "  You  cannot 
touch  your  foot  to  the  stirrup,"  said  Scott.  "One  of  them  I  can," 
answered  Pierce.  The  general  looked  again  at  Pierce's  almost  disabled 
figure,  and  seemed  on  the  point  of  taking  his  irrevocable  resolution. 
"You  are  rash,  General  Pierce,"  said  he,  "  we  shall  lose  you  and  we 
cannot  spare  you,  it  is  my  duty  to  order  you  back  to  San  Augustine." 
"  For  God's  sake  !  General,"  exclaimed  Pierce — "  don't  say  that,  this  is 
our  last  great  battle,  and  I  must  lead  my  brigade." 

The  Commander-in-Chief  made  no  remonstrance,  but  gave  the  order 
for  Pierce  to  advance. 

The  way  lay  tlirough  thick  standing  corn,  and  over  marshy  ground, 
intersected  with  ditches,  which  were  filled  or  partially  so,  with  water ; 
over  some  of  the  narrower  of  these  Pierce  leaped  his  horse.  When  the 
brigade  had  advanced  about  a  mile,  however,  it  found  its  progress 
impeded  by  a  ditch  ten  or  tweh-e  feet  wide,  and  six  or  eight  feet  deep. 
It  being  impossible  to  leap  it.  General  Pierce  was  lifted  from  his  saddle, 
and  in  some  incomprehensible  manner,  hurt  as  he  was,  contri\'ed  to  wade 
or  scramble  across  this  obstacle,  leaving  his  horse  on  the  hitlier  side. 
The  troops  were  now  under  fire.  In  the  excitement  of  the  battle,  he 
forgot  his  injuries  and  hurried  forward,  leading  the  brigade  a  distance  of 
two  or  three  hundred  yards.  But  the  exhaustion  of  his  frame,  and  par- 
ticularly the  anguish  of  his  knee,  made  more  intolerable  by  such  free  use 
of  it,  was  greater  than  any  strength  of  nerve,  or  any  degree  of  mental 
energy,  could  struggle  against.  He  fell,  faint  and  almost  insensible, 
within  full  range  of  the  enemy's  fire.  It  was  proposed  to  bear  him  off 
the  field,  but  as  some  of  his  soldiers  approached  to  lift  him  he  became 
aware  of  their  purpose,  and  was  partially  revived  by  his  determination 
to  resist  it.  "  No,"  said  he,  with  all  the  strength  he  had  left.  "  don't 
carry  me  ofi" !  leave  me  here  ;"  and  there  he  lay  under  the  tremendous  fire 
of  Churubusco,  until  the  enemy  in  total  rout  was  driven  from  the  field. 
Immediately  after  this  victory,  Santa  Anna  sent  a  flag  of  truce  pro- 
posing an  armistice  with  a  view  to  negotiations  for  peace,  and  General 
Pierce  was  appointed  by  the  Commander-in-Chief  one  of  the  commission- 
ers on  our  part,  together  with  Generals  Quitman  and  Persifer  F.  Smith, 
to  arrange  the  terms  of  this  armistice.  Pierce  was  unable  to  walk  or  to 
mount  his  horse  without  assistance,  when  intelligence  of  his  appointment 
reached  him.  He  had  not  removed  his  spurs,  nor  slept  an  hour  for  two 
nights,  but  he  immediately  obeyed  the  summons,  was  assisted  into  the 
saddle  and  rode  to  Tacubaya,  where,  at  the  house  of  the  British  Consul 
General,  the  American  and  Mexican  Commissioners  were  assembled ;  the 
conference  began  late  in  the  afternoon,  and  continued  until  four  o'clock  the 
next  morning,  when  the  articles  were  signed.  Pierce  then  proceeded  to 
the  quarters  of  General  Worth,  where  he  obtained  a  short  repose. 

The  armistice  was  of  short  duration,  Santa  Anna  having  resorted  to 
his  favorite  ruse  to  prevent  the  American  troops  from  taking  possession 

VOL.  III.  14 


210  SKETCHES    OF   EMINENT    AMERICANS. 

of  the  capital,  which  might  have  been  entered  immediately  after  the 
battle  of  Qhurubusco. 

The  next  battle  was  that  of  Molino  del  Rey,  one  of  the  most  obstinately 
contested  and  sanguinary  conflicts  of  the  whole  campaign.  In  this 
action  General  Worth  with  three  thousand  troops  attacked  and  routed 
fourteen  thousand  Mexicans,  driving  them  under  the  protection  of  the 
guns  of  Chapultepec.  General  Pierce  was  ordered  with  his  brigade  to 
the  support  of  "Worth.  With  his  usual  alacrity  he  pushed  forward,  but 
arrived  just  in  time  to  see  the  gallant  Worth  master  of  the  field ;  but 
doubtless  the  ardor  and  rapidity  of  his  approach  greatly  added  to  the 
panic  of  the  Mexicans,  and  although  he  did  not  assist  in  their  defeat,  yet 
he  had  the  satisfaction  of  interposing  his  forces  between  Worth  and  the 
retreating  enemy,  and  thus  drew  upon  himself  the  fire  of  Chapultepec. 
A  shell  from  the  castle  bursting  near  his  horse  so  startled  the  animal 
that  he  came  near  plunging  over  an  adjacent  precipice.  Still  under  fire, 
his  brigade  was  actively  engaged  in  removing  the  wounded,  and  securing 
the  captured  ammunition,  and  whilst  thus  occupied  he  led  a  portion  of 
his  command  to  repel  the  attacks  of  the  enemy's  skirmishers. 

Although  still  suffering  from  his  injuries  and  over-exertion,  General 
Pierce  had  continued  to  act  with  his  brigade,  and  On  the  day  previous 
to  the  battle  of  Chapultepec  had  occupied  the  field  of  Molino  del  Rey. 
Contrary  to  expectation  it  was  found  that  the  enemy  had  withdrawn  his 
forces,  and  Pierce  having  remained  upon  the  field  until  noon,  when  it 
became  certain  that  the  contemplated  attack  would  not  take  place  until 
the  following  day,  returned  to  the  quarters  of  General  Worth  ;  here 
his  strength,  exerted  beyond  the  powers  of  human  endurance,  gave  way, 
and  he  remained  unable  to  move  from  his  bed  for  thirty -six  hours.  In 
that  time  the  glorious  battle  of  Chapultepec  had  been  gained,  in  which 
his  brigade  behaved  most  gallantly  and  suffered  severely,  and  Colonel 
Ransom,  in  leading  the  ninth  regiment,  was  shot.  An  obstinate  defence 
was  now  made  at  the  gates  of  Belen  and  San  Cosmo,  and  it  was  expected 
-that  it  would  be  necessary  to  storm  the  city.  When  this  was  told  to 
General  Pierce,  he  made  an  attempt  to  rise  from  his  bed  and  dress  him- 
self, but  WHS  prevailed  upon  by  Captain  Hardcastle  to  remain  and  hus- 
band his  strength  until  there  should  be  immediate  occasion  for  its  use. 
In  this  he  appeared  to  acquiesce,  but  arose  in  the  night,  and  making  his 
way  to  the  trenches  reported  himself  to  General  Quitman,  witii  whom  a 
part  of  his  brigade  was  acting.  Quitman's  share  in  the  anticipated 
assault,  it  was  supposed,  owing  to  the  position  which  his  troops  occupied, 
would  be  more  perilous  than  that  of  Worth.  But  the  war  was  ended. 
The  campaign  had  closed  with  Chapultepec.  The  Mexicans  had  aban- 
doned their  capital.  The  victorious  Americans  took  possession,  and 
soon  the  stars  and  stripes  were  floating  proudly  over  the  "  Halls  of  the 
Montezumas." 

General  Pierce  remained  in  Mexico  until  December,  when  the  war 
being  concluded,  and  negotiations  for  peace  nearly  settled,  he  returned 
to  his  loved  home,  and  resigning  his  commission  applied  himself  again 
to  the  practice  of  law. 

In  1850,  in  pursuance  of  a  vote  of  the  people  of  New  Hampshire,  a 
convention  was  assembled  at  Concord  for  a  revision  of  the  constitution, 
and  General  Pierce  was  elected  its  president  by  an  almost  unanimous 


FRANKLIN    PIERCE,  OF    NEW   HAMPSHIRE.  211 

ballot.  In  this  convention  he  was  active  in  his  exertions  to  procure  the 
repeal  of  the  illiberal  Catholic  test, — so  long  a  stain  on  the  statute-book 
of  that  State — and  aided  by  Judge  Woodbury  and  other  democratic 
members,  attained  his  purpose  as  tar  as  the  Convention  possessed  any 
power  or  responsibility  in  the  matter. 

On  the  12th  of  June,  1852,  the  democratic  convention  at  Baltimore 
nominated  Franklin  Pierce  as  their  candidate  for  the  presidency  of  the 
United  States,  and  in  the  fall  of  the  same  year  he  received  the  vote  of 
nearly  all  the  electoral  colleges — an  unanimity  unparalleled  since  the 
days  of  Washington  ;  and  on  the  fourth  day  of  March  last  he  was  pub- 
licly inaugurated  the  president  of  the  United  States. 

The  professional  qualifications  of  General  Pierce  as  a  practising  lawyer 
were  of  the  highest  character.  A  spectator  who  witnesses  an  interesting 
trial  in  a  court  of  justice,  while  gratified  by  the  intellectual  exhibition 
there  presented,  can  hardly  realize  the  training  by  which  the  gladiators 
in  the  legal  arena  have  acquired  their  strength  and  skill.  Legal  know- 
ledge, ready  to  be  used  at  a  moment's  warning,  self-possession,  experience 
of  human  nature — all  the  energies  of  a  well  stored  and  self-poised  mind, 
are  called  into  constant  requisition  in  every  important  trial.  These  qua- 
lifications Mr.  Pierce  in  an  eminent  degree  combined.  He  had,  besides, 
the  advantage  of  entering  upon  his  profession  with  a  finished  academical 
and  legal  education.  By  severe  study  he  had  mastered  the  science  of 
law,  till  his  mind  played  with  its  subtlest  distinctions — but  he  never 
neglected  close  and  untiring  preparation  for  each  particular  cause. 
Those  who  knew  his  mode  of  transacting  business,  remaiked  the  careful 
manner  in  which  his  jury-trials  were  prepared.  Many  of  these  were,  of 
course,  long,  intricate,  and  involved  with  many  embarrassments.  Such 
cases  demand  the  most  minute  preparation,  and  it  has  often  been  observed 
that  General  Pierce  was  remarkable  for  anticipating  difiiculties,  and 
making  provisions  for  contingencies  likely  to  arise  in  the  course  of  a  trial, 
which  were  unforeseen  by  others.  None  but  the  practising  lawyer  can 
fully  understand  the  value  of  this  peculiar  talent.  Every  important  trial 
is  full  of  surprises,  where  the  light-minded,  superficial,  and  timid  advocate 
is  often  overcome,  and  a  good  cause  irrevocably  lost  by  one  fatal 
mis-step. 

In  his  addresses  to  the  jury,  as  an  advocate,  Mr.  Pierce  had  few  equals 
and  no  superiors  among  his  cotemporaries.  His  language  was  fluent, 
copious,  and  select — his  manner  and  attitude  peculiarly  graceful  and 
dignified — his  voice  flexible,  sonorous,  and  entirely  under  his  control. 
With  logical  clearness  he  presented  his  strong  points  to  the  minds  of  the 
jury,  and  urged  them  upon  their  consideration  with  that  persuasive 
eloquence  which  it  is  difiicult  to  resist. 

The  defence  of  innocence — the  assertion  of  right — the  exposure  and 
punishment  of  fraud — and  the  redress  of  wrong — these  were  the  occa- 
sions which  roused  to  the  utmost  the  energies  of  his  mind,  and  furnished 
full  scope  for  the  exhibition  of  his  uncommon  power  as  an  advocate.  At 
such  times,  when  the  full  exertion  of  his  strength  was  demanded,  his 
eloquence  rose  with  the  occasion  in  power  and  energy,  and  bore  along 
with  its  irresistible  torrent  the  convictions  of  his  hearers. 

In  addressing  a  jury,  his  aim  seemed  to  be,  first  of  all,  to  gain  their 
entire  and  willing  confidence,  by  evincing  his  sincerity  throughout  the 


212  SKETCHES    OF    EMINENT    AMERICANS. 

wliole  course  of  the  trial.  He  would  convince  them  that  he  was  honest 
as  a  man  ;  and  that  he  was  honest  as  a  lawyer  in  advocating  the  interests 
of  his  client.  Thus  he  the  more  easily  carried  the  jury  along  with  him 
to  the  desired  conclusion.  They  were  made  to  feel  that  he  was  really 
endeavoring  to  aid  and  facilitate  their  efforts  to  find  the  true  state  of  the 
case ;  and  were  thus  disarmed  of  the  suspicion  too  often  well  founded, 
that  the  advocate  is  practising  the  subtilty  of  his  art  only  to  conceal  and 
distort  the  truth.  In  this  course,  Mr.  Pierce  is  worthy  of  all  praise,  and 
of  all  imitation. 

In  the  form  and  texture  of  his  address,  he  was  brief,  comprehensive, 
and  strong :  seizing  upon  the  main  points  of  his  case  and  wasting  no 
strength  on  the  unimportant  or  inconsiderable  ones.  By  precept  as  well 
as  by  example  he  disapproved  of  the  intcTiainable  and  undigested  argu- 
ments now  so  common  at  the  bar ;  obstructing,  as  they  do,  the  general 
administration  of  justice,  and  wearying  out  the  patience  of  judges  and 
jurors ;  and  finally,  not  unfrequently  ruining  the  cause  itself  which  is 
thus  advocated. 

Fully  recognising  the  principle  that  his  profession  could  only  be  used 
for  moral  purposes,  Mr.  Pierce  was  always  anxious,  to  prevent  litigation 
where  the  ends  of  justice  could  be  gained  without  this  resort.  With  this 
view  he  was  in  the  habit  of  advising  his  clients  to  settle  their  disputes 
by  conciliation  and  by  mutual  agreement.  And  he  was  often  successful 
in  bringing  about  the  results  which  he  desired.  In  many  cases,  how- 
ever, the  cause  of  his  client  would  be  so  palpably  just  as  to  leave  no  room 
for  delay  in  embracing  its  advocacy ;  in  others,  there  was  such  a  compli- 
cation of  facts  and  circumstances,  as  well  as  of  precedents,  that  the  ti'ial 
alone  could  determine  which  party  was  in  the  right ;  and  yet  in  other 
cases,  more  doubtful,  the  client  was  still  entitled  to  an  impartial  applica- 
tion of  the  law  to  the  facts  which  might  be  established  by  an  open  hear- 
ing of  both  sides.  It  was,  however,  his  constant  wish  and  effort  to  bring 
about  the  settlement  of  cases,  where  this  was  possible,  without  their  pro 
ceeding  to  the  expense  and  other  evils  of  a  public  trial. 

Did  our  space  permit,  we  could  with  pleasure  say  more  of  Mr.  Pierce's 
qualities,  mental  and  moral.  In  manners  he  is  characterized  by  dignified 
simplicity ;  in  conversation,  by  earnestness  and  truthfulness  ;  and  in  all 
his  intercourse  and  business  with  men,  by  integrity.  In  his  reverence  for 
sincerity  and  truth,  he  has  ever  despised  those  arts  by  which  ambitious 
men  court  the  populace,  or  conciliate  the  individual.  In  all  the  walks 
of  life,  public  as  well  as  private,  he  has  been  content  to  appear  what  he 
is,  and  to  be  estimated  simply  for  his  worth.  And  if  honors  have 
flowed  in  upon  him,  they  have  been  the  unbought  homage  which  the 
human  heart  still  pays  to  virtue  and  talent  exerted  in  the  public  service. 
Imbued  from  childhood  with  a  deep  reverence  for  goodness  and  truth  in 
others,  it  is  but  natural  that  these  qualities  should  be  conspicuous  in 
himself.  And  his  character  might  be  summed  up  in  these  two  words, 
integrity  and  earnestness — integrity,  or  a  perfect  harmony  between  the 
outward  and  inward  life,  pervaded  and  quickened  by  moral  earnestness. 
With  a  character  thus  informed  and  moulded,  it  is  not  to  be  wondered, 
that,  in  the  course  of  his  professional  and  public  life,  no  act  can  be 
pointed  at  which  sullies  the  honored  name  he  bears. 

This  sketch  would  be  incomplete,  and  lack  its  highest  significance,  if 


FRANKLIN    PIERCE,    OF    NEW    HAMPSHIRE.  213 

it  did  not  tell  those  who  may  read  it,  that  Mr.  Pierce  is  eminent]}-  a 
religious  man.  He  was  carefully  educated  in  the  religious  principles 
which  distinguished  the  first  settlers  of  New  England,  and  in  early  man- 
hood, he  made  a  public  profession  of  his  faith  in  Christ.  Through  all 
his  subsequent  life,  he  has  stood  before  angels  and  men  a  witness  to  the 
truth  and  the  joys  of  religion.  His  convictions  of  the  truth  of  Chris- 
tianity, and  of  its  adaptation  to  the  moral  necessities  of  man,  have  grown 
with  his  growth,  and  strengthened  with  his  strength.  For  many  years, 
it  has  been  his  daily  habit  to  read  and  ponder  the  Oracles  of  Truth. 

As  we  have  thus  biietiy  recounted  the  leading  facts  in  the  life  of  Gene- 
ral Pierce,  before  closing  this  sketch,  we  may  be  permitted  to  indulge  in 
a  few  remarks  upon  his  character,  reviewed  from  a  point  which,  though 
overlooked  by  other  biographers,  seems  to  pi'esent  him  more  favorably  as 
a  man  and  a  Christian^  than  all  the  acts  of  his  public  career. 

The  manner  in  whi(;h  he  has  sustained  the  three  relations  of  son,  hus- 
band, and  father,  proves  to  the  world  that  General  Pierce  is  not  only  a 
great,  but  a  good  man. 

When,  in  1842,  we  see  him  resigning  his  seat  in  the  Senate  cham- 
ber, to  enable  him  to  resume  the  practice  of  a  laborious  profession  in 
order  to  provide  for  those  who  were  more  dear  to  him  than  all  the  world 
besides ;  when,  again,  in  declining  the  highest  legal  position  in  the 
country,  we  hear  him  say  that  a  public  career  was  never  suited  to  his 
taste,  that  he  longed  for  the  quiet  of  domestic  life,  and  had  formed  a  fixed 
purpose  never  again  to  be  voluntarily  separated  from  his  family  for  any 
length  of  time,  we  know  he  felt  that  true  happiness  could  not  be  found 
except  in  his  own  dear  domestic  circle,  and  around  his  own  fireside.  But, 
how  transient  are  earthly  joys !  In  1842,  he  had  a  family:  then  two 
sweet  little  boys,  roseate  with  the  glow  of  that  heavenly  innocence  to  be 
found  only  in  the  child,  were  sleeping  by  their  motlier's  side.  As  he 
thought  of  these,  the  sweetest  dreams  arose,  the  tenderest  chords  of  feel- 
ing w^ere  awakened,  tears  of  joy  filled  his  eyes,  and  he  felt  happiness 
could  find  no  fitter  shrine,  than  in  such  a  home.  These  were  the  only- 
unsullied  joys  of  this  world ;  the  bliss  of  home  never  cloyed — the  smiles 
of  his  children  were  always  true.  But  while,  day  and  night,  he  labored 
to  execute  his  design,  in  providing  for  his  little  household,  the  bitterness 
of  fortune  suddenly  overwhelmed  him.  He  lost  a  promising  child,  a 
beautiful  little  boy  ;  and  this  was  the  second  wound  that  had  struck 
deep  to  afflict  him.  This  loss  having  been  preceded  by  that  of  a  son  in 
early  infancy,  he  was  now  left  with  only  one  remaining  child.  The  blow 
fell  so  heavily  upon  himself  and  his  devoted  wife,  that  neither  scarcely 
wished  to  survive  it.  But,  as  Christians,  from  a  due  sense  of  the 
majesty  and  goodness  of  God,  they  were  all  submission  and  resignation 
to  his  divine  will,  neither  murmuring  at  his  dispensations,  nor  for  a 
moment  doubting  the  wisdom  of  Providence  in  the  regulation  of  human 
aflfairs — though  they  felt  that  nothing  afterwards  could  make  them 
happy.  Even  now  they  cannot  conceal  from  themselves  the  reason  they 
had  to  cherish  so  lovely  a  child.  The  graces  of  his  countenance,  the 
sweetness  of  his  expressions,  the  sparklings  of  his  infant  wit,  the  indica- 
tions he  already  gave  of  a  placid  temper,  caused  him  to  be  beloved,  even 
by  those  who  were  not  his  relatives,  while  it  rendered  still  more  severe 
the  greatest  afflictioi/a  parent  can  suffer. 


iil4  SKETCHES    OF   EMINENT    AMERICANS. 

After  these  calamities,  there  remained  to  Mr.  Pierce  his  son  Benjamin, 
who  was  all  his  pleasure,  all  his  hopes.  And  indeed,  he  could  be  a 
source  of  comfort ;  for,  already  entered  upon  his  seventh  year,  it  was  not 
blossoms  he  showed,  as  his  younger  brother,  but  well  formed  fruits, 
whose  harvest  could  not  fail.  A  few  years  passed  quickly  avk'ay,  and 
Benjamin  was  a  youth  of  twelve.  He  not  only  had  great  inclination  to 
study,  but  was  one  of  those  affectionate  boys  who  win  the  love  and 
esteem  of  all.  If  ever  child  promised  to  fulfil  the  expectations  of  his 
friends  it  was  he,  whose  charming  voice  and  sweet  countenance  are  vet 
so  well  remembered.  But,  as  if  jealous  of  our  happiness,  there  seems  to 
reign  a  secret  envy  which  pleases  itself  in  nipping  the  bud  of  our  hopes. 

In  the  midst  of  the  congratulations  of  his  countrymen,  the  last  fatal 
blow  came.  On  a  winter's  morning  the  President,  his  wife,  and  son,  were 
seated  with  a  feeling  of  perfect  security,  for  a  short  journey  on  a  New 
England  railroad.  There  w^as  a  sound  like  a  peal  of  thunder.  The  car 
was  dashed  against  the  rocks.  General  Pierce  was  childless.  The  eyes 
of  his  dear,  his  only  son,  had  shut  for  ever  to  the  light,  and  the  soul  had 
departed.  He  wept.  That  son  who  was  to  succeed  him  in  all  his  honors, 
and  share  them  with  him  in  his  lifetime,  he  was  never  to  see  more.  The 
fruits  and  honors  of  his  laborious  life  were  to  be  left  to  strangers. 

And  now,  in  the  midst  of  all  his  triumphs,  the  secret  sting  of  sadness 
remains  buried  in  his  heart.  Providence  has  so  dispensed  the  good  and 
the  evil  of  life,  that  every  man,  whatever  his  station,  or  however  happy 
his  lot,  finds  crosses  and  afflictions  which  always  counterbalance  his 
pleasures.  There  is  no  perfect  happiness  on  earth.  Prosperity  is  a 
dream ;  glory  a  mistake ;  the  world  a  deception,  which  feeds  only  vain 
phantoms,  leaving  nothing  solid  in  the  heart. 

God  alone  can  comfort  our  afflictions ;  and,  in  the  meditation  of  his 
holy  law,  and  submission  to  his  eternal  decrees,  do  the  bereaved  parents 
seek  those  solid  consolations  which  they  have  never  found  in  the  world, 
and  which,  while  softening  their  afflictions  here  below,  will  secure  to 
them  their  immortal  reward  hereafter. 


SECRETAytr   OF   STATE  , 


in^ra'^-&^ta'*  Jiu.^r.zffrucii'    S  .'>'£. '^r^-^- 


WILLIAM    L.    MARCY,    OF    NEW   YORK.  215 

WILLIAM   L.   MARCY, 

SECRETARY    OF    STATE. 

The  first  settlers  of  the  northern  shores  of  our  country  were  stern  men, 
who,  refusing  dictation  as  to  their  manner  of  worshipping  the  Supreme 
Being,  became  voluntary  exiles  from  their  native  land,  that  in  the  New 
World  they  might  offer  up  their  supplications  in  such  a  manner  as  would 
best  conform  to  their  own  views  of  addressing  their  Creator.  And,  truly, 
no  grander  temple  could  they  have  selected — no  better  cathedral  built 
than  the  eternal  forest  surrounding  New  England's  rock-bound  coast — 
where  the  everlasting  anthem  ascended  from  Old  Ocean's  bosom,  and 
blended  with  the  hymns  of  praise  from  those  primeval  woods. 

It  is  not  asserted  that  the  ancestors  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch  were 
numbered  amongst  the  pilgrims  of  Plymouth  rock,  or  that  they  there 
offered  up  their  first  thanksgiving ;  but  it  is  certain  that  they  rank  among  the 
first  of  those  who  chose  New  England  for  their  home,  and  were  of  that 
Puritan  stock,  which,  disguise  the  fact  as  you  may,  has  given  a  name  and 
standing  to  this  Confederacy,  which  only  men  of  such  iron  will  and  de- 
termination could  give.  Cast  your  eye  over  the  illustrious  of  this  Union, 
and  frame  a  list  of  those 

"  Names  that  were  not  born  to  die," 

and  note  what  proportion  can  be  traced  back  to  this  old  Puritan  stock. 
From  Maine  to  Texas,  from  Carolina  to  California,  you  find  its  offshoots 
filling  the  judicial  benches,  prominent  as  merchants,  useful  as  mechanics, 
and  in  every  way  perfoi-ming  the  duties  of  good  citizens. 

In  tracing  back  the  ancestry  of  our  distinguished  fellow  citizen  as  far 
as  is  necessary  for  us  to  go,  we  find  a  paternal  progenitor,  Moses  Marcy, 
born  in  Woodstock,  Connecticut,  who  married  there  in  the  year  1Y23, 
and  removed  in  1732  to  New-Medfield,  afterwards  called  Sturbridge,  where 
he  became  the  father  of  a  family  of  eleven  children. 

He  appeal's  to  have  been  a  prominent  citizen  of  that  town,  having  built 
the  first  grist  mill,  which,  although  it  may  be  sneered  at  now,  was  then  no 
mean  attemjjt;  for  in  referring  to  Clark's  liistorical  sketch  of  Sturbiidge 
we  find  that  the  principal  diet  of  the  inhabitants  was  at  that  time  boiled 
beans,  "  which  they  usually  prepared  on  the  evening  of  one  day  in  suffi- 
cient quantities  for  the  breakfast  and  dinner  of  the  next."  He  was  Colo- 
nel of  Militia,  and  the  first  representative  sent  from  the  town  to  the  Gene- 
ral Court,  and,  as  Clark  relates  of  him,  during  the  old  French  War,  he 
repeatedly  fitted  out  soldiers  for  the  army  upon  his  own  responsibility, 
and  from  his  own  private  resources. 

When  the  revolutionary  war  took  place,  he  was  too  far  advanced  in 
life  to  take  part  in  the  active  scenes  of  that  struggle,  but  his  counsel  and 
advice  were  never  withheld,  and  his  sons  and  grandsons  represented  him 
well  and  bravely,  on  the  battle-fields  of  liberty. 

He  died  October  9,  1779,  at  the  age  of  seventy-two,  leaving  an  honoi^ 
able  name,  a  large  estate,  and  a  numerous  posterity. 


216  SKETCHES    OF    EMINENT    AMERICANS. 

A  grandson  of  tliis  Colonel  Moses  Marcy  was  the  fatber  of  the  subject 
of  our  notice.  He  married  Rutb  Learned,  a  descendant  of  the  earliest 
settlers  of  Sturbridge ;  and  in  tbat  portion  of  the  town,  now  known  as 
Southbridgo,  on  the  12th  day  of  December,  1780,  William  L.  Marcy  was 
born.  He  received  the  rudiments  of  knowledge  in  the  schools  of  his  na- 
tive town,  and  at  the  proper  age  was  sent  to  the  Academy  at  Leicester. 
It  was  at  this  time  that  party  spirit  ran  high  throughout  the  Union,  but 
especially  in  the  New  England  States,  where  the  opposition  to  the  repub- 
lican principles  of  Thomas  Jefferson  was  bitter  in  the  extreme ;  and  the 
politics  of  his  preceptor  being  strongly  federalist,  the  school  naturally 
took  its  tone  from  its  principal ;  whilst  young  Marcy,  being  of  a  repub- 
Hcan  family,  and  prominent  in  the  advocacy  of  those  principles,  was  made 
to  suffer  for  his  opinions  by  exclusion  from  a  society  formed  for  literary 
and  social  purposes,  the  members  of  which  defended  Federalist  doctrines. 
From  this  academy  he  entered  Brown  University  at  Providence,  R.L, 
where  he  graduated  with  high  honor  in  1808. 

When  about  twenty-two  years  of  age  he  removed  to  Troy  in  the  State 
of  New  York,  where,  after  concluding  his  studies,  he  commenced  the 
practice  of  the  law ;  and  it  was  here  too,  that  he  made  his  debut  on 
the  political  stage. 

At  the  commencement  of  the  war  of  1812,  being  an  ofHcer  of  a  mili- 
tary company  belonging  to  the  city  of  Troy,  he  volunteered  his  services, 
and  acted  with  the  company  until  the  cessation  of  hostilities.  This  com- 
pany was  among  the  first  dispatched  to  the  northern  frontier,  and  was 
stationed  at  French  Mill,  now  Fort  Covington. 

On  the  night  of  the  22d  of  October,  1812,  Lieutenant  Marcy  accom- 
panied a  detachment  under  command  of  Major  Young,  whose  object  it 
was  to  capture  a  company  of  Canadian  Militia  posted  at  St.  Regis.  The 
attack  was  successful,  and  the  whole  force  of  the  enemy  were  taken  prison- 
ers. The  latter  occupied  a  house  built  of  heavy  square  timber,  but 
though  they  were  advantageously  situated  for  defence,  made  only  a  feeble 
resistance.  Lieutenant  Marcy  approached  the  house  with  a  file  of  men, 
broke  open  the  door  himself  at  the  hazard  of  his  life,  and  after  the  gar- 
rison surrendered  took  from  each  man  his  arms.  These  were  the  first 
prisoners  taken  on  land  during  the  war.  Among  the  spoils  of  the  ex- 
pedition was  the  flag  of  the  British  company,  which  was  also  the  first 
standard  taken  on  land.  This  flag  was  afterwards  presented  to  Governor 
Tompkins,  and  is  still  preserved  among  the  honored  trophies  of  the  war 
of  1812. 

He  was  also  with  Colonel  Pike  and  his  regiment,  in  the  unfortunate 
nioht  expedition,  in  the  month  of  November,  against  the  British  encamp- 
ment on  Le  CoUe  River. 

In  1816  he  was  appointed  Recorder  of  the  City  of  Troy,  from  which 
office  he  was  removed  in  1818,  to  give  place  to  a  supporter  of  Governor 
Clinton,  whom  he  had  voted  for  as  the  republican  candidate  for  Governor, 
but  with  whose  administration  he  had  become  dissatisfied,  and  Avhich  he 
had  denounced  as  leaning  too  much  towards  the  Federalists.  In  Janu- 
ary, 1821,  he  received  from  Governor  Yates  the  appointment  of  Adjutant- 
General  of  the  New  York  State  Militia;  and  in  February,  1823,  he  was 
elected  by  the  Legislature  Con:iptroller  of  the  Stale,  to  fill  the  va&incy 
occasioned  by  the  appointment  of  John  Savage  to  the  Supreme  Bench. 


WILLIAM    L.    MARCY,    OF    NEW   YORK.  21 Y 

The  duties  of  this  office  coinpening  his  presence  at  the  scat  of  govern- 
ment he  removed  to  Albany,  where  he  has  since  resided,  excepting 
whilst  engaged  officially  at  Washington.  In  1829,  he  was  appointed  one 
of  the  Associate  Justices  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  State  of  New  York, 
but  resigned  that  office  on  the  .31st  of  January,  1831,  at  the  urgent  solici- 
tation of  his  friends,  upon  his  almost  unanimous  nomination  as  Senator 
by  a  legislative  caucus,  and  on  the  following  day  was  duly  elected  to  the 
Senate  of  the  United  States. 

He  took  his  seat  as  Senator  in  December  of  that  year,  and  remained 
in  the  Senate  about  two  years,  performing  whilst  there  the  duties  of 
Chairman  of  the  Committee  on  tlie  Judiciary,  and  those  pertaining  to  a 
Member  of  the  Committee  on  Finance. 

In  1832,  Mr.  Marcy  was  elected  Governor  of  the  State  of  New  York, 
over  Francis  Granger,  the  Anti-Masonic  candidate,  by  a  majority  of  nearly 
ten  thousand.  His  term  as  a  Senator  had  not  expired  at  the  time  of  his 
election,  but  he  resigned  in  season  to  enter  upon  his  duties  as  Governor, 
on  the  first  day  of  January,  1833.  In  his  first  message,  he  ablj^  reviews 
the  financial  condition  of  the  State,  and  thus  expresses  himself  in  regard 
to  its  indebtedness : 

"A  national  debt  may  be  the  result  of  inevitable  necessity.  The 
efforts  which  nations  are  sometimes  required  to  make,  to  recover  their 
civil  liberty,  or  to  defend  their  rights,  may  involve  an  expenditure  beyond 
their  present  ability  to  pay.  A  debt  thus  contracted  confers  no  reproach, 
and  its  payment  may  be  deferred  until  the  people  that  incurred  it,  have 
replenished  their  resources,  and  become  able  to  sustain  the  burden  of 
discharging  it,  without  withering  tlivir  prosperity.  Such  has  been  the 
origin  of  our  national  debt,  and  such  has  been  our  course  in  regard  to  its 
payment.  The  debt  contracted  by  this  State  on  account  of  its  canals,  is 
justified  on  a  difterent  principle.  The  object  for  which  it  was  incurred 
was  specific,  and  ample  means  for  its  speedy  redemption  were  provided 
in  the  very  act  which  authorized  it.  It  could  have  in  no  event  been 
forwarded  on  to  a  future  age,  as  an  encumbrance  upon  it,  to  be  paid 
by  a  general  tax,  without  a  violation  of  the  most  solemn  pledges." 

His  views  respecting  the  canals  are  thus  given : 

"There  is  no  subject  connected  with  our  local  affairs  that  we  can  con- 
template with  so  much  satisfaction  as  our  works  of  internal  improve- 
ment. The  advantages  resulting  from  them  are  felt  in  all  parts  of  the 
state,  and  in  the  diversified  occupations  of  our  citizens.  Everywhere 
their  beneficial  eftects  are  visible,  bearing  testimony  to  the  wisdom  which 
conceived  the  system,  and  to  the  enterprise  which  put  it  into  practical 
operation.  The  peculiar  formation  indicated  at  an  early  period  to  some 
of  our  enhghtened  and  sagacious  citizens,  the  practicability,  as  well  as 
the  usefulness  of  connecting  the  great  northern  and  western  lakes  with 
the  Atlantic  ocean  by  means  of  artificial  water  communications.  The 
enterprise  of  the  present  age  has  most  successfully  carried  into  effect  the 
grand  conceptions  of  the  past.  The  spirit  which  prompted  us  to  enter 
upon  the  system  was  not,  however,  wild  and  reckless  ;  while  it  anxiously 
sought  the  end,  it  carefully  estimated  and  wisely  provided  the  means  for 
its  attainment.  Though  nmch  has  been  done  to  improve  the  condition 
of  our  state,  much  yet  remains  to  be  done.  While  we  allow  the  success 
which  has  attended  our  efforts  at  home  to  impel  us  forward  in  the  career 


218  SKETCHES    OF    EMINENT    AMEKICANS. 

of  improvement,  we  should  not  be  regardless  of  the  less  fortunate  efforts 
which  have  resulted  from  similar  enterprises  abroad.  On  the  one  hand, 
it  vi^ould  be  unworthy  of  the  character  of  the  state  to  pause  in  this 
career ;  on  the  other,  it  would  be  more  unwise  to  rush  forward  in  it,  accumu- 
lating burdens  on  the  people  without  securing  proportionate  advantages," 

Governor  Marcy's  administration  had  been  so  satisfactory  that  he  was 
again  nominated  for  re-election  by  the  Herkimer  Convention  on  the  10th 
of  September,  1834,  and  defeated  his  opponent,  Wm.  H.  Seward,  by  a 
majority  of  about  thirteen  thousand. 

During  his  second  term,  in  view  of  the  strenuous  efforts  then  being 
made  by  the  State  of  Pennsylvania  to  divert  the  trade  of  the  West 
through  channels  of  its  extensive  lines  of  railroads  and  canals.  Governor 
Marcy  strongly  urged  upon  the  legislature  the  enlargement  of  the  Erie 
Canal,  but,  true  to  the  principles  of  his  former  message,  he  recommended 
that  it  should  only  be  carried  on  as  rapidly  as  the  surplus  revenues  aris- 
ing from  tolls  would  permit. 

Governor  Marcy  was  nominated  for  a  third  term  in  1836  ;  and,  to  show 
his  increasing  popularity,  we  may  add  that  he  received  at  this  election 
almost  thirty  thousand  votes  over  the  whig  candidate,  Jesse  Buel. 

Mr.  Marcy  was  the  candidate  of  the  democratic  party  for  a  fourth 
term  in  1838,  but  owing  to  causes  which  it  is  unnecessary  for  us  to 
detail,  he  did  not  obtain  his  usual  success,  and  Wm.  H.  Seward  was 
elected  governor. 

After  the  expiration  of  his  term  of  office,  he  was  appointed  by  Presi- 
dent Van  Buren,  one  of  the  commissioners  to  decide  upon  the  claims  of 
the  Mexican  Government,  under  the  convention  of  April,  1839.  He 
performed  the  duties  of  this  commission  until  its  expiration  in  1842, 
when  he  returned  to  Albany. 

Upon  the  election  of  Mr.  Polk  to  the  Presidency,  he  tendered  to  Mr. 
Marcy  the  post  of  Secretary  at  War  in  his  cabinet,  which  he  accepted, 
and  the  arduous  duties  of  which  position  he  performed  with  signal 
ability  during  the  late  war  with  Mexico.  It  was  the  administration  of 
this  office  that  called  forth  the  practical  talents  of  Mr.  Marcy.  Upon 
him  now  devolved  the  very  delicate  duty  of  conducting  a  war,  in  regard 
to  the  prosecution  of  which  Congress  was  by  no  means  unanimous, — of 
appointing  proper  officers,  and  distributing  materiel  reluctantly  granted 
by  a  divided  representation.  But  his  genius  oyercame  all  difficulties ; 
and  when  the  gallant  generals  and  brave  soldiers  of  those  campaigns  are 
named  with  the  honors  so  justly  merited,  the  services  of  the  able  secre- 
tary who  watched  over  and  guided  their  movements  should  not  be  for- 
gotten. 

Among  the  many  drawbacks  to  the  development  of  his  plans,  was  an 
unfortunate  feeling  which  had  arisen  to  his  pnjudice  in  the  bosoms  of 
those  gallant  generals  at  the  head  of  the  separate  columns  in  Mexico — a 
feeling,  unhappily  not  unusual,  where  military  men,  and  those  whom  they 
consider  civilians,  come  in  contact,  particularly  where  the  civilian  has 
power  to  enforce  his  orders :  and  with  General  Scott  especially,  circum- 
stances occurred  to  aggravate  this  feeling,  forcing  him  to  strictures  upon 
the  secretary,  which  doubtless  in  his  calmer  moments  were  regretted. 
Mr.  Marcy  defended  himself  with  his  usual  ability,  as  the  following 
extracts  from  a  letter  to  General  Scott  will  prove  : — 


WILLIAM    L.    MARCy,    OF    KEW    YORK.  219 

"  hy  extending  ray  comments  upon  your  letter,  I  might  multiply  proofs 
to  show  that  your  accusations  against  the  head  of  the  War  Depariment 
are  unjust ;  that  your  complaints  are  unfounded ;  that  the  designs 
imputed  by  you  to  the  government  to  embarrass  your  operations,  impair 
your  rightful  authority  as  commander,  and  to  oiler  outrage  and  insult  to 
your  feelings,  are  all  the  mere  creations  of  a  distempered  fancy ;  but  to 
do  moi'e  than  I  have  done,  would,  in  my  judgment,  be  a  work  of  super- 
erogation. 

"  In  conclusion,  I  may  be  permitted  to  say,  that  as  one  of  the  presi- 
dent's advisers,  I  had  a  full  shure  in  the  resj^onsibUity  of  the  act  which 
assigned  you  to  the  command  of  our  armies  in  Mexico.  I  felt  interested, 
even  more  than  naturally  appertained  to  my  official  position,  that  success 
and  glory  should  signalize  your  operations.  It  was  my  duty  to  bring  to 
your  aid  the  efficient  co-operation  of  the  war  department.  I  never  had 
a  feeling  that  did  not  harmonize  with  a  full  and  fair  discharge  of  this 
duty.     I  know  it  has  been  fuithfully  j)erf armed. 

"  There  are  some  men  for  whom  enough  cannot  be  done  to  make  them 
grateful,  or  even  just,  unless  acts  of  subserviency  and  personal  devoted- 
ness  are  superadded.  From  you  I  expected  bare  justice,  but  have  been 
disappointed.  I  have  found  you  my  accuser.  In  my  vindication  I  have 
endeavored  to  maintain  a  defensive  line,  and  if  I  have  gone  beyond  it  at 
any  time,  it  has  been  done  to  repel  unprovoked  aggression.  To  your 
fame  I  have  endeavored  to  be  just.  I  have  been  gratified  with  the  many 
occasions  I  have  had  to  bear  public  testimony  to  your  abilities  and  signal 
se-vices  as  a  commander  in  the  field.  It  has  been,  and  under  any  change 
in  our  personal  relations,  it  will  continue  to  be,  my  purpose  to  be  liberal 
in  my  appreciation  of  your  distinguished  military  merits.  In  respect  to 
your  errors  and  your  faults,  though  I  could  not  be  blind,  I  regret  that 
you  have  not  permitted  me  to  be  silent." 

Mr.  Marcy  was  a  prominent  member  of  Mr.  Polk's  cabinet,  and  apart 
from  the  services  intimately  connected  with  his  position  as  secretary  of' 
war,  exerted  no  small  influence  upon  the  other  questions  which  came 
before  it.  His  diplomacy  was  displayed  in  the  settlement  of  the  Oi'egon 
boundary.  He  was  an  advocate  of  the  tariff  of  1846  :  and  always 
advised  a  strict  adherence  to  the  old  democratic  doctrine  of  protecting 
the  states  in  all  their  lights  which  did  not  conflict  with  the  federal  con- 
stitution. On  the  slavery  question,  especially,  was  he  decided  thai  inter- 
ference was  not  only  pernicious,  but  unconstitutional. 

In  the  presidential  election  of  1848,  he  supported  General  Cass;  and 
when  General  Taylor  was  elected,  he  retired  at  the  expiration  of  Mr. 
Polk's  term  to  his  home  at  Albany,  where  he  remained  a  useful  and  an 
active  citizen,  until  the  election  of  Mr.  Pierce,  who  tendered  him  the 
office  of  secretary  of  state,  which  he  now  fills  with  such  distinguished 
ability. 

Mr.  Pierce,  in  his  inaugural,  having  assumed  a  position  in  regard  to 
the  rights  of  American  citizens  abroad,  which  found  a  ready  response  in 
the  bosoms  of  all  who  claimed  protection  under  our  flag,  whether  native 
or  adopted,  an  opportunity  not  long  since  presented  itself  of  testing  the 
applicability  of  his  views ;  and  as  the  matter  came  directly  under  the 
action  of  the  secretary  of  state,  to  the  diplomatic  talents  of  Mr.  Marcy 
may  be  attributed  the  conducting  of  those  cabinet  measures  upon  the 


220  SKETCHES    OF   EMINENT    AMERICANS. 

protest  of  Chevalier  Hulsemann,  in  behalf  of  the  Austrian  government ; 
and  to  his  statesmanship  the  masterly  vindication  of  President  Pierce's 
inaugural,  and  the  conduct  of  the  officers  of  the  American  government, 
as  displayed  in  the  Koszta  correspondence. 

Near  the  close  of  the  month  of  July,  1853,  Martin  Koszta,  a  Hunga- 
rian by  birth,  but  clothed  with  the  nationality  of  the  United  States  by  a 
previous  legal  declaration  of  his  intention  to  become  a  citizen,  was  set 
upon  by  a  gang  of  villains  in  the  port  of  Smyrna,  and  finally  carried  on 
board  of  an  Austrian  vessel,  where  he  was  detained  in  irons  as  a  traitor 
to  the  Austrian  government.  Mr.  Brown,  the  dragoman  of  the  American 
leo-ation,  having  become  aware  of  the  facts,  directed  Capt.  Ingraham, 
commander  of  the  U.  S.  ship-of-war  St.  Louis,  to  demand  the  surrender 
of  Koszta  and  to  employ  force,  if  necessary,  to  compel  a  compliance  with 
his  application.  The  Austrian  legation  yielded  to  the  superior  power, 
under  protest,  and  upon  condition  that  Koszta  should  be  placed  in  the  cus- 
tody of  the  French  legation,  and  be  delivered  up  only  upon  the  written 
consent  both  of  the  American  and  Austrian  ministers. 

Almost  simultaneously  with  the  receipt  of  this  news  in  the  United 
States,  Chevalier  Hulsemann,  Charge  of  the  Austrian  Government,  ad- 
dressed the  Secretary  of  State  a  note  protesting  on  behalf  of  his  govern- 
ment against  the  action  of  Mr.  Brown,  and  of  Capt.  Ingraham,  and  asking 
our  government  to  authorize  the  surrender  of  Koszta  to  the  Austrian 
government. 

As  the  first  important  measure  of  public  policy  which  the  present  ad- 
ministration has  had  an  opportunity  of  submitting  to  the  world,  this  letter 
of  Mr.  Marcy  has  naturally  attracted  very  general  attention,  aside  fi'om 
the  profound  interest  felt  in  the  question  to  which  it  relates.  It  can  well 
bear  all  the  scrutiny  to  which  it  may  be  subjected.  It  is  universally  ad- 
mitted to  be  one  of  the  ablest  state  papers  that  ever  emanated  from 
Washington.  It  has  covered  its  author  and  his  country  witli  new  honor, 
and  will  inspire  the  whole  civilized  world  with  increased  respect  for  Ameri- 
can statesmanship  and  the  American  flag.  It  has  disposed  of  the  Koszta 
controversy.  It  is  conceded  to  be  a  perfect  vindication  of  Mr.  Brown  and 
of  Capt.  Ingraham  as  for  the  orders  of  the  one  and  their  faithful  and 
manly  execution  by  the  other,  and  henceforth  no  one  will  presume  to  deny 
that  in  the  Ottoman  empire,  all  who  have  clothed  themselves  with  the 
nationality  of  our  government,  are  entitled  to  and  will  receive  its  pro- 
tection. 

As  a  private  citizen  Governor  Marcy  has  always  been  held  in  high  es- 
teem, for  his  good  example  in  the  fulfilment  of  social  duties  and  obliga- 
tions, for  his  public  spirit,  and  for  his  generous  liberality. 

In  person  he  is  rather  above  the  ordinary  height;  his  frame  is  stout 
and  muscular,  but  not  gross.  His  forehead  is  bold  and  full ;  his  eyebrows 
heavy  ;  his  eyes  deep-set  and  expressive ;  and  his  mouth  and  chin  firmly 
moulded.  His  appearance  altogether  is  calculated  to  impress  a  stranger 
favorably,  both  in  respect  to  his  talents  and  his  character.  His  manners 
are  affable  and  courteous ;  free  from  pretence,  yet  dignified.  His  ac- 
quaintance is  really  an  enjoyment,  and  he  is  one  of  those  men  to  whom 
society  is  indebted  for  its  charms  and  attractions. 

He  is  considered  to  be  a  sti'ict  party  man,  but  frank  and  honorable  in 
bis  political  course.     He  has  tlie  reputation  of  being  a  shrewd  political 


WILLIAM    L.    MARCr,    OF    ffEW    YORK.  221 

tactician,  and,  probably,  bas  never  been  surpassed  in  tliis  respect,  by  any 
of  tbe  politicians  of  New  York.  It  has  ever  been  his  policy  to  prevent 
the  getting  up  of  State  issues  to  interfere  with  the  success  of  the  demo- 
cratic party  of  the  nation.  He  is  something  of  an  optimist  in  politics, 
regarding  everything  as  for  the  best,  never  disturbed  by  reverses,  nor  un- 
duly elated  by  good  fortune.  He  is  well  fitted,  too,  to  rovgh  it, — a  desi- 
rable trait  in  a  politician,  for  he  has  his  dark  days  as  well  as  sunshine. 

Mr.  Marcy,  if  not  a  graceful  speaker,  is  always  interesting.  But  as  a 
writer,  he  ranks  deservedly  liigh.  His  style  is  strong,  pure,  perspicuous, 
and  tiows  with  true  Addisonian  ease  and  elegance.  His  state  papers  are 
admirable  compositions  of  their  kind,  and,  like  those  of  Clareudon  and 
Bolingbroke,  will  be  remembered  for  their  intrinsic  worth,  long  after  the 
subjects  to  which  they  relate  have  lost  their  importance. 

Secretary  Marcy  has  been  twice  married.  His  first  wife  was  a  Miss 
Newell,  a  descendant  of  one  of  the  early  settlers  of  Sturbridge ;  his 
second  was  a  daughter  of  the  late  Benjamin  Knowel,  of  the  city  of  Al- 
bany, at  one  time  State  Treasurer. 

It  would  not  be  easy  to  find  a  man  who  possesses  a  greater  amount  of 
general  information  than  Seci'etary  Marcy.  He  seems  to  be  as  famiUar 
with  every  department  of  science  and  literature  as  if  his  life  had  been 
spent  in  their  pursuit.  His  insatiable  thirst  for  knowledge  has  been  con- 
stantly gratified  and  stimulated  by  new^  acquisitions;  while  an  iron  con- 
stitution, which  has  shown  itself  proof  against  any  amount  of  intellectual 
exertion,  has  enabled  him  to  push  his  researches,  without  interruption,  to 
the  present  hour.  What  he  thus  acquires  seems  always  at  perfect  com- 
mand. There  is  no  confusion  in  his  knowledge.  His  mind  is  like  a 
well  ordered  cabinet,  where  everything  is  skilfully  arranged  and  available ; 
where  every  shell,  and  gem,  and  fossil,  and  mineral,  is  within  reach,  either 
for  ornament  or  illustration. 

His  memory  is  very  remarkable  :  it  is,  perhaps,  one  of  the  secrets  of  his 
strength,  as  it  certainly  forms  a  considerable  source  of  the  fascination  of 
his  convereation.  He  is  a  man  of  vivid  impressions.  What  he  hears 
and  what  he  reads,  no  less  than  what  he  sees,  seems  to  be  daguerreotyped 
upon  his  mind,  never  to  fade.  He  has  as  clear  a  conception  of  the  stir- 
ring events  which  have  taken  place  within  the  last  fifty  years,  in  both 
hemispheres,  as  if  they  had  passed  under  his  own  eye.  Persons  distin- 
guished in  our  own  history,  now  long  dead,  with  whom  he  has  had  inter- 
course, are  as  distinctly  remembered  as  if  he  had  parted  with  them  but 
yesterday.  Racy  anecdotes,  illustrative  of  their  characters  and  of  their 
times,  and  therefore  matters  of  general  interest,  are  told  by  him  with  all 
the  freshness  of  a  recent  occurrence.  As  with  an  enchanter's  wand,  he 
raises  the  curtain,  and  exhibits  past  events,  making  them,  like  well  exe- 
cuted tableaux,  to  stand  out  as  present  realities.  It  is  on  such  occasions 
that  the  regret  is  often  repeated,  that  he  does  not  employ  his  gifted  pen 
in  delineating  interesting  reminiscences,  which  will  otherwise  die  with 
him. 

As  an  extemporaneous  speaker,  he  stands  deservedly  high.  His  man- 
ner is  calm,  deliberate,  dignified,  graceful,  and  impressive.  Tbe  same 
classic  elegance  and  chasteness  of  language  which  belong  to  his  written 
opinions,  also  characterize  his  extemporaneous  addresses.  It  was  a  com- 
mon remark,  that  his  language  could  not  be  improved,  but  was  ready  for 


222  SKETCHES    OF   EMINENT    AMERICANS. 

the  press  just  as  it  fell  from  his  lips.  The  author  remembers  one  occa- 
sion when,  under  the  influence  of  strong  emotion,  he  spoke  for  two  hours, 
with  a  sustained  and  thrilling  and  masterly  eloquence  that  he  has  never 
seen  surpassed.  The  smoothly  flowing  stream  had  become  a  torrent,  that 
swept  on  with  a  resistless  momentum.  He  was  cool,  cautious,  and  ready ; 
presenting  the  strongest  points  of  his  client's  cause  in  the  most  winning 
and  advantageous  aspects ;  and  defending,  with  admirable  skill,  those 
which  were  more  assailable.  No  man  could  parry  better  than  he  the 
force  of  an  adverse  authority,  or  show  greater  ingenuity  in  discriminating 
his  case  from  the  one  cited  against  him. 

The  writer  would  do  injustice  to  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  did  he 
neglect  to  speak  particularly  of  those  social  qualities,  which  constitute 
one  of  the  most  attractive  features  of  his  character.  He  shines  in  the 
department  of  domestic  and  social  life.  It  is  in  the  unreserved  inter- 
course which  mutual  love  and  esteem  produce,  that  the  charm  of  his 
conversation  is  felt  by  both  young  and  old.  It  is  here  that  his  real 
amiability  of  disposition  finds  full  play.  With  a  lively  and  cultivated 
imagination ;  a  ready,  genial  wit,  which  pleases  all  without  wounding 
any ;  quickness  at  repartee ;  an  inexhaustible  fund  of  anecdote,  relating 
to  matters  and  things  and  persons,  within  his  own  recollection ;  great 
general  information  and  power  of  graphic  delineation  ;  all  united  with 
the  manners  and  bearing  of  a  thorough  gentleman,  render  him  at  once 
the  ornament,  as  well  as  the  favorite  of  social  life.  An  evening  spent 
with  him,  when  he  is  in  one  of  his  best  colloquial  moods,  is  an  event  to 
be  remembered. 

Mr.  Marcy  is  now  near  the  age  of  three-score  years  and  ten,  in  posses- 
sion of  full  bodily  and  mental  vigor ;  with  an  eye  as  keen  and  as  full  of 
fire  as  in  his  younger  days.  He  is  still  actively  engaged  in  the  acquisi- 
tion of  useful  knowledge,  and  in  keeping  up  with  the  progress  of  the  age ; 
performing  an  amount  of  labor  and  reading,  that  many  younger  men 
would  regard  as  no  inconsiderable  task.  He  looks  with  eager  interest 
upon  the  panorama  of  this  moving  world,  allowing  no  item  of  general  inte^ 
rest  in  any  part  of  the  globe  to  escape  him. 


\_. 


Co^yi^-i-^^       ^^-u^u,^^^^T„t.^t,jL^ 


JAMES    GUTHRIE,    OF    KENTDCKT.  223 

JAMES    GUTHRIE, 

SECRETARY  OF  THE  TREASURY. 

James  Guthrie,  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  was  born  in  Nelson  County, 
state  of  Kentucky,  in  the  year  1793,  and  is  now  sixty  years  of  age. 
Though  not  of  Scotch  parentage,  he  is  of  Scotch  descent,  his  ancestors 
having  emigrated  first  from  Scotland  to  Ireland,  and  afterwards  to 
this  country.  Guthrie  is  a  name  well  and  advantageously  known  in 
Scottish  history.  It  was  James  Guthrie,  a  Covenanting  minister  who, 
for  his  intrepidity  as  a  preacher  and  writer,  was  marked  for  a  victim,  by 
the  perfidious  government  of  Charles  the  Second.  He  was  condemned 
to  death  as  a  traitor  with  no  other  solemnity  than  the  form  of  a  trial, 
and  was  soon  afterwards  executed.  He  met  his  death  (by  decapitation) 
heroically,  and  from  the  scafiold  exhorted  the  numerous  spectators  to 
resist  the  tyrant  and  persecutor  to  the  death.  Then  having  done,  with 
as  much  tranquillity  as  if  he  had  been  in  his  pulpit,  he  submitted  his 
neck  to  the  executioner's  axe.  His  head  was  placed  over  a  gateway  in 
Edinburgh,  and  was  regarded  by  the  persecuted  covenanters  as  an  ob- 
ject of  peculiar  reverence.  To  him  and  to  such  as  he  was,  Scotland 
owes  her  religious  liberty — a  debt  never  to  be  forgotten. 

Mr.  Guthrie's  father  was  General  Adam  Guthrie,  an  early  pioneer  to 
the  west  from  the  state  of  Virginia.  He  was  an  active,  energetic  man, 
and  bore  a  distinguished  part  in  the  struggle  with  the  Indians  for  that 
flourishing  region,  now  composing  six  or  seven  states  and  numbering  five 
or  six  millions  of  mhabitants.  It  was  then  an  unexplored,  inhospitable 
wilderness.  What  will  it  be  one  hundred  years  hence  ?  General 
Guthrie,  besides  being  engaged  in  other  conflicts  with  the  Indians,  was  in 
the  battle  of  the  Saline,  fought  ten  or  twelve  miles  west  of  Shawnee 
town,  Illinois,  and  which  was  remarkable  for  the  singular  manner  in 
which  it  was  gained  by  the  whites — by  charging  with  the  tomahawk 
(they  had  no  bayonets)  through  the  Indian  line,  and  after  breaking  it 
charging  to  the  right  and  left.  In  this  engagement.  General  William 
Hardin,  the  commander  of  the  expedition,  was  seriously  wounded. 

Peace  being  made  with  the  Indians,  General  Guthrie  turned  his  atten- 
tion wholly  to  civil  pursuits,  and  became  so  far  a  politician  as  to  repre- 
sent his  county  in  the  Kentucky  Legislature  eight  or  ten  years,  to  the  en- 
tire satisfaction  of  his  constituents  and  of  his  fellow  citizens  in  general. 
He  was  a  man  of  strong  practical  sense,  and  was  much  esteemed  for  that, 
as  well  as  for  the  fidelity  with  which  he  adhered  to  friendships  formed  in 
the  hour  of  trial  and  danger. 

James  Guthrie  was  educated  principally  at  McAlister's  Academy  at 
Bardstown  in  Nelson  county,  an  institution  which  was  at  that  day  one 
of  the  best  to  be  found  in  the  western  country.  The  head  of  it  was  a 
Scotchman,  and  by  no  means  an  ordinary  man.  He  was  distinguished 
for  his  general  attainments  and  for  his  extensive  mathematical  knowledge, 
and  esteemed  and  beloved  for  the  urbanity  of  his  manners,  and  the  benevo- 
lence of  his  disposition.     Having  completed  his  academical  course,  Mr. 


224  SKETCHES    OF    EMINENT   AMERICANS, 

Gutbrie,  as  it  was  then  common  for  active  and  adventurous  young  men 
to  do,  engaged  in  the  Mississippi  trade,  purchasing  the  produce  of  his 
neighborhood,  and  descending  tlie  river  with  it  in  that  grotesque-looking 
and  forgotten  craft,  called  a  Flat.  Whilst  engaged  in  this  pursuit  he 
thrice  visited  New  Orleans,  returning  home  on  horseback  or  on  foot, 
through  the  Indian  country ;  to  do  which  was  no  small  undertaking,  as  it 
required  both  mental  resolution  and  physical  strength.  There  were  great 
pedestrians  engaged  in  that  trade  in  those  days,  whose  feats  of  walking 
were  even  then  marvellous,  and  in  these  more  soft  and  silken  times  almost 
incredible.  There  were  men  wdio  performed,  on  foot,  the  land  journey  of 
eight  or  nine  hundred  miles,  sooner  than  it  could  be  accomplished  by  any 
horseman  ;  and  as  many  as  thirty  such  journeys  have  been  performed  by  a 
single  individual. 

^  Finding  the  business  of  a  river  trader  a  very  laborious  and  hazardous  one, 
and  not  very  remunerative,  Mr.  Guthrie  abandoned  it  and  returned  to  the 
study  of  the  law,  which  he  had  once  before  commenced  and  now  resumed, 
after  an  intermission  of  a  year  or  two,  under  the  instruction  of  the  late 
Judge  Rowan,  a  profound  jurist  and  eloquent  advocate.  The  judge  was 
an  able  man,  who  won  his  way  to  political  and  forensic  distinction  by  his 
talents,  tact,  and  energy.  He  was  often  a  member  of  the  Legislature  of 
his  own  state,  and  was  six  years  a  Senator  of  the  United  States. 

Mr.  Guthrie  was  at  this  period  a  severe  student — retired  and  taciturn — 
not  mingling  with  society  in  its  pleasure,  or  feeding  his  mind  upon  the 
idle  and  transient  topics  of  gossip  too  often  discussed  in  circles  of  the 
young  and  giddy — but  in  laborious  study  over  the  works  of  the  sages  of 
the  law.  He  criticisised,  assimilated,  and  digested  the  matter  of  his  read- 
ing, until  he  made  it  his  own.  He  knew  that  it  was  only  in  the  study 
of  the  law  as  a  science  that  its  symmetry  could  be  discerned,  and  its 
adaptation  to  its  ends  fully  appreciated  ;  and  that  he  who  is  a  mere  case 
lawyer,  is  driven  at  every  turn  to  resort  to  his  books,  could  neither  illus- 
trate its  great  principles,  nor  apply  them  with  skill  to  the  multiform 
cases  that  arise  in  practice. 

In  1820,  Mr.  Guthrie  established  himself  as  a  practitioner  of  law  in  the 
town,  now  city,  of  Louisville,  and  soon  became  eminent  in  his  profession. 
He  possessed  the  qualities  and  qualifications  that  command  success,  and 
he  commanded  it.  With  a  vigorous  intellect,  much  legal  knowledge, 
and  great  industry,  he  secured  in  a  very  short  time  a  large  share  of  the 
most  lucrative  practice.  No  man  ever  approached  him  as  a  client  who 
did  not  want  a  strictly  conscientious  adviser  or  advocate.  He  never 
gave  "forked  counsel,"  and  always  regarded  the  law.  not  as  a  trade  full 
of  trickery  and  tergiversation,  but  as  a  noble  science,  the  professors  of 
which  ought,  in  their  professional  capacity,  to  be  as  spotless  as  the  ermine 
of  that  justice  Avhose  guardians  and  administrators  they  are.  By  his 
practice  he  acquired  in  a  few  years  means  enough,  when  under  the  manage- 
ment of  his  prudence  and  discernment,  to  lay  the  foundation  of  a  large 
fortune,  which  he  did,  not  by  what  are  called  "  lucky  hits,"  and  which 
are  no  more  than  fortunate  accidents — for  he  is  no  visionary  or  reckless 
speculator — but  by  judicious  investments  in  real  estate  in  and  around 
Louisville,  the  future  greatly  enhanced  value  of  which  he  clearly  foresaw, 
aad  much  more  distinctly  than  many  others  who  occupied  themselves 
entirely  in  speculation. 


JAMES    GUTHRIE,    OF    KENTUCKY.  223 

Though  assiduously  devoted  to  his  profession,  Mr.  Guthrie  found 
time  to  participate  in  the  political  questions  by  which  the  state  of  Ken- 
tucky was  so  portentously  agitated  for  some  seven  or  eight  years,  dating 
from  about  the  year  182 J.  Party  animosity  scarcely  ever  before  ran  su 
high  in  this  country,  and  the  exasperation  and  violence  could  hardly  have 
been  greater,  stop})ing  short  of  civil  war.  This  state  of  things  grew  out. 
of  what  were  called  the  relief  measures,  adopted  by  the  legislature — 
stay  and  rejtlevin  laws,  in  connexion  with  the  commonwealth's  bank, 
and  the  reorganization  of  the  court  of  appeals.  Mr.  Guthrie  was 
opposed  in  principle  to  any  interference  of  the  legislature  in  a  question 
between  debtor  and  creditor,  but  believing  that  it  had  the  unquestionable 
power  to  remodel  its  judicature,  he  was  on  the  side  of  the  new  court 
against  the  old,  and  was  one  of  the  ablest  and  most  adroit  defenders  of  the 
cause  he  espoused.  The  old  court  party  finally  succeeded,  but  their 
success  did  not  settle  definitively  any  of  the  questions  at  issue.  What 
seemed  to  be  a  final  adjustment  of  them  was  but  an  adjournment,  for 
they  may,  under  a  parity  of  circumstances,  be  again  asserted  and  again 
contended  for  by  another  generation  on  the  same  arena. 

Of  all  those  relief  measures  the  commonwealth's  bank  was  perhaps 
the  boldest  experiment,  and  was  as  successful  as  it  was  bold.  Nothing 
of  the  kind  has  ever  been  attempted  in  this  country  and  been  so  success- 
fully carried  through.  Three  millions  of  paper  dollars  were  put  into  circu- 
lation without  any  metallic  basis  whatever,  and  with  no  capital  except  tho 
public  faith  ;  and  after  doing  good  service  to  the  country,  saving  thou- 
sands of  debtors  from  ruin,  and  materially  aiding  to  support  the  govern- 
ment of  the  state,  the  whole  was  in  few  years  called  in,  cancelled,  and 
destroyed.  It  is  doubtful  whether  such  a  public-financial  achievement, 
could  be  again  accor/.plished  in  Kentucky,  or  in  any  other  country.  Ten 
millions  of  dollars  would  be  no  more  for  that  state  now  than  three  mil- 
lions were  then,  but  certainly  no  statesman  of  that  commonwealth  would 
be  willing  to  see  so  large  a  sum  emitted  except  upon  a  specie  basis  largo 
enough  to  constitute  a  reasonable  guarantee  for  its  final  redemption. 

Mr.  Guthrie  has  often  represented  the  city  of  Louisville  and  the  county 
of  Jefterson  in  the  legislature  of  his  own  state,  first  in  the  lower  house 
and, afterwards  in  the  senate,  and  he  has  been  almost  always  elected  with 
a  majority  against  him,  with  respect  to  political  opinion  ;  but  such  was 
the  confidence  reposed  in  his  ability  and  integrity,  and  in  his  zeal  for 
the  general  good,  that  many  of  his  opponents  preferred  him  to  candidates 
from  among  their  own  party.  This  was  a  high  compliment,  and  in  his 
case  a  most  deserved  one.  In  the  legislature  he  was  generally  chairman 
of  the  judiciary  committee,  and  he  discharged  his  duties  as  such  with 
great  industry  and  intelligence.  He  rarely  ever  proposed  a  measure  re- 
specting the  state  tribunals  which  was  not  sanctioned,  for  he  never  pro- 
posed anything  that  was  not  a  manifest  amelioration.  Though  far  from 
being  a  loquacious  member,  he  was  not  by  any  means  a  silent  one,  but 
spoke  frequently  for  or  against  propositions  as  they  came  up,  and  spoke 
always  clearly,  forcibly,  and  convincingly.  He  is  not  in  the  slightest  de- 
gree what  Hazlitt  says  Canning  was — "  a  mere  fluent  sophist,"  or  what 
Goldsmith  said  of  Burke,  addicted  to  "refining,"  and  to  "cutting  blocks 
•vrith  a  razor."  His  speeches  were  all  to  the  purpose,  and  whilst  they 
were  lucid  and  perspicuous,  were  not  much  embellished  by  the  mere 

VOL.   III.  15 


226  SKETCHES    OF    EMINENT    AMERICANS. 

graces  and  polish  of  elocution.  They  needed  no  such  erahellishnient. 
Mr.  Guthrie's  aim  was  to  be  clear,  brief,  logical,  and  precise,  without  much 
regarding  rhetorical  ornament  and  appliances.  He  was  not  considered 
a  great  orator,  but  was  looked  upon  as  being  something  much  more 
useful  and  influential  in  a  deliberative  body— a  great  debater  and  great 
business  man,  and  was  for  that  reason  always  listened  to  with  the  most 
profound  attention  by  all  parties. 

It  has  been  frequently  asked  :  "  Why  has  not  Mr.  Guthrie  had  a 
greater  reputation  out  of  his  own  state  ?"  A  very  short  sentence  will 
fully  answer  the  question.  He  has  no  political  ambition.  Often  has  he 
been  solicited,  nay,  importuned,  to  become  a  candidate  for  the  guberna- 
torial chair  of  the  state,  and  for  Congress,  and  as  often  has  he  positively 
declined  the  invitation.  Without  doubt  he  might  have  been  in  the 
councils  of  the  nation,  where  the  same  qualities  which  have  made  him 
eminent  at  home  would  have  secured  him  distinction  in  a  more  elevated 
position.  His  fondness  for  politics  begins  and  ends  in  his  patriotism.  He 
covets  no  fame,  no  office,  nor  the  emoluments  of  office.  He  has  not 
been  a  seeker  after  popularity,  and  all  he  has  enjoyed  has  been  of 
the  kind  which  Lord  Mansfield  said  was  alone  worth  having — that 
which  follows  and  is  not  sought.  He  is  zealous  and  untiring  in  the  ad- 
vocacy of  sound  political  principles,  but  from  choice  has  limited  his 
sphere  of  action  to  his  own  county  and  state.  From  1825  to  the  present 
day,  he  has  been  what  many  would  call  a  Jackson  democrat,  and  a  most 
active,  influential,  and  efficient  one.  To  his  exertions  his  party  is  much 
indebted  for  the  formidable  and  imposing  front  the  Democrats  have  al- 
ways presented  to  their  antagonists  in  Kentucky,  although  almost  con- 
stantly in  the  minority ;  and  though  he  has  left  the  state  temporarily,  it 
is  not  likely  that  his  example  and  his  eftbrts  will  be  forgotten.  He  will 
not  now  interfere  in  the  state  politics  ;  but  his  past  labors  will  not  be  lost, 
for  many  choice  spirits  still  remain  to  imitate  and  to  emulate  his  devoted- 
ness  and  disinterestedness. 

In  the  formation  of  his  Cabinet,  President  Pierce  wished  to  place  at  the 
head  of  the  Treasury  a  man  of  tried  principles,  and  of  acknowledged 
qualifications.  Such  a  man  was  Mr.  Guthrie  ;  but  yet  upon  a  question  or 
two  of  national  policy,  his  sentiments  were  not  quite  as  familiar  to  the 
President  as  the  latter  wished ;  not  that  there  was  anything  covert  or 
ambiguous  about  Mr.  Guthrie  with  respect  to  his  opinions,  but  what  was 
■perfectly  well  known  in  Kentucky  was  not  so  well  known  in  New  Hamp- 
shire ;  and  for  that  reason  he  was  indirectly  interrogated  upon  those  points. 
His  answer  was  characteristic — brief,  pointed,  and  unequivocal.  Instead 
of  treating  the  subject  ditt'usely,  and  writing  a  dissertation,  he  did  but 
little  more  than  refer,  for  full  information,  to  the  speeches  he  had  made 
in  the  Kentucky  Convention  which  formed  a  new  constitution  for  that 
state,  some  three  or  four  years  ago,  and  of  which  body  he  was  the 
President.  But  so  little  value  did  he  seem  to  place  upon  his  parhamen- 
tary  labors  that  he  had  not  preserved  even  a  copy  of  those  speeches,  and 
merely  said,  they  would  be  found  in  the  debates  of  that  Convention. 
These  speeches  furnished  the  information  desired  by  the  President,  and 
added  greatly  to  his  reputation  as  a  statesman  and  debater.  In  that 
body  he  not  only  performed  the  duties  of  presiding  officer  in  a  most 
dignified  and  satisfactory  manner,  but  was  at  the  same  time  an  active, 


JAMES    GUTHRIE,    OF    KENTUCKY.  227 

enlightened,  and  influential  member,  whose  opinions  upon  every  impor- 
tant point  were  eagerly  listened  to  and  almost  invariably  adopted. 

It  may  be  said,  and  cannot  be  contradicted,  that  as  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury  no  one  has  ever  had  the  charge  of  that  Department,  who  has 
brought  more  industry,  integrity,  and  ability  to  the  performance  of  his 
duties  than  Mr.  Guthrie ;  and  no  Secretary,  in  so  short  a  time,  ever  more 
completely  mastered  the  details  of  the  office  or  made  himself  more  inti- 
mately acquainted  with  the  fiscal  and  commercial  system  of  the  country. 
Strict  economy,  a  strict  adherence  to  the  laws,  and  strict  accountability, 
form  the  basis  of  his  administrative  system,  and  should  he  remain  in 
oflSce  until  the  4th  of  Mai'ch,  1857,  and  meet  with  that  cooperation  and 
support  which  it  may  be  confidently  assumed  he  will,  the  fiscal  aflfairs 
of  the  country  will  be  in  a  condition  to  challenge  the  admiration,  as 
they  will  excite  the  envy,  of  all  the  governments  of  Europe ;  for  a  tri- 
umph will  have  been  achieved  by  the  "  great  republic"  more  glorious  than 
the  winning  of  a  dozen  battles,  if  not  so  dazzling.  The  4th  of  March, 
1857,  will  be  the  second  time  within  the  memory  of  man,  when  a  heavy 
pubHc  debt  will  have  been  entirely  paid  off,  and  the  nation  once  more 
relieved  from  that  very  equivocal  "  national  blessing,"  a  national  debt. 
Then  we  shall  have  no  pecuniary  liabilities,  a  full  treasury,  and  imposts 
that  will  not  be  much  more  than  nominal,  and  will  move  on  with  accele- 
rated speed  in  our  career  of  prosperity  and  progress. 

The  character  of  Mr.  Guthrie's  mind  is  eminently  inductive  and  ana- 
lytical ;  there  is  nothing  about  it  starthng  or  electrical.  Slow  and  cau- 
tious, even  to  fastidiousness,  in  his  premises,  he  reaches  his  conclusions 
with  the  most  painstaking  accuracy.  His  "  fancy  is  tame,"  and  it  may 
be  truly  said  of  it,  that  it  "  waits  upon  the  judgment."  He  never  con- 
tents himself  with  brilliant  analogies,  so  apt  to  captivate  the  undisciplined 
mind.  For  himself  he  digs  into  the  mine  of  truth,  and  makes  no  account 
of  the  reputation  often  gained  by  a  mere  brokerage  in  the  precious  ore. 
He  recognises  no  authority  but  that  which  carries  with  it  its  own  inhe- 
rent sanction.  He  measures  the  shoals  and  depths  of  his  subject  with 
the  line  and  plummet  of  reason,  and  if  ever  man  was,  is  willing  to  follow 
her  behests,  "  uncaring  consequences." 

As  a  speaker,  he  is  impassioned,  with  a  warmth  of  earnest  conviction 
felt  by  himself,  and  desired  to  be  instilled  into  his  auditors.  He  employs 
no  ornaments  of  speech,  but  few  anecdotes,  indulges  in  no  play  of  fancy, 
and  never  aims  to  direct  his  hearers  from  his  subject  to  himself  or  his 
style.  His  speech  is  direct,  earnest,  and  for  a  result — addressed  more  to 
the  understanding  than  the  passions.  His  earnestness  and  self-convic- 
tion, his  steady  array  and  disciplined  precision  of  thought,  with  his  fre- 
quent recurrence  to  great  and  familiar  principles,  and  their  application, 
all  combined,  efltect  all  that  the  most  eloquent  could  accomplish. 

In  addition  to  his  qualifications  as  an  advocate,  he  has  a  clear  and 
instinctive  perception,  and  appreciation  of  the  universal  principles  of  jus- 
tice and  right ;  and  as  an  equity  lawyer,  has  few  equals.  Throughout 
his  entire  professional  career,  he  has  ever  manifested  a  singular  devotion 
to  the  interests  of  his  clients.  He  always  made  their  cause  his  own  when 
founded  in  justice,  and  lent  the  whole  energies  of  his  mind  to  sustain  it. 
He  enjoyed  the  unlimited  confidence  of  all  who  have  sought  his  services, 
and  his  sincerity  and  integrity  were  never  even  the  subject  of  suspicion 


228  SKETCHES    OF    EMINENT    AMERICANS. 

or  distrust.  The  poor,  when  oppressed,  or  deprived  of  a  right,  have  never 
appealed  to  him  without  meeting  with  sympathy  and  aid  ;  and  he  has 
freely  bestowed,  not  only  his  time  and  professional  services,  but  often 
advanced  his  money  to  assist  a  feeble  and  helpless  client.  Indeed, 
this  class  of  his  business  has  always  been  remarkably  large,  yet  it  has 
been  cheerfully  performed,  and  usually  attended  with  most  gratifying 
success. 

In  all  his  varied  fortunes,  he  has  never  seemed  for  one  moment  to  for- 
get the  associates  of  his  early  life.  His  sympathies  are  with  the  people, 
who  have  been  his  fast  and  unyielding  friends,  and  have  ever  been  his 
chief  reliance  in  all  the  sterner  trials  of  his  life.  They  have  clung  to 
him  in  every  period  of  his  fortunes,  with  a  devotion  that  no  circum- 
stances could  weaken,  nor  adversity  oveKcorae.  Ever  ready  to  aid  them 
with  his  counsel,  his  advice,  his  sympathy,  and  assistance,  he  has  found 
in  them  in  return,  on  all  occasions  where  their  efforts  were  required  to 
.sustain  him  in  the  discharge  of  his  public  duties,  a  support  upon  which 
he  has  relied  with  unfailing  confidence,  and  to  which  he  never  made  an 
appeal  in  vain.  Regardless  of  mere  wealth  and  empty  distinction,  he 
seldom  sought  the  aid  or  association  of  those  whose  energies  were  exclu- 
sively devoted  to  the  accumulation  of  riches,  and  never  had  the  fortune 
to  count  this  class  in  the  ranks  of  his  ardent  personal  friends.  He  was 
drawn  instinctively  into  communion  with  those  whose  lot  it  is  to  toil,  en- 
dure, and  suffer,  and  found  his  chief  enjoyment  in  the  society  of  those 
honest  and  humble  men,  who  in  the  seclusion  of  private  life  remained 
free  from  the  corruptions  of  wealth,  and  the  debasing  tendencies  of  un- 
scrupulous personal  ambition. 

A  great  and  leading  trait  of  his  character  is  a  benevolence  of  feeling. 
From  the  first  hour  of  his  prosperity,  he  has  freely  shared  the  avails  of 
his  labors  with  his  kindred,  many  of  whom  required  the  aid  of  some 
friendly  hand  to  raise  them  from  the  same  condition  of  poverty  and  toil 
in  which  his  own  lot  was  cast,  and  scarcely  a  day  passes  by  but  some 
friend  is  permitted  to  share  his  bounty. 

The  great  element  in  his  success  has  been  an  iron  will  and  unyielding 
perseverance.  In  the  darkest  hour  of  his  life,  when  adversity  i^ressed 
most  heavily  upon  him,  he  never  for  a  moment  gave  way  to  despair,  or 
relaxed  the  energies  of  his  ardent  and  hopeful  nature.  He  commenced 
the  gi"eat  battle  of  life  resolved  to  conquer  and  overcome,  and  the  results 
he  has  been  able  to  accomplish,  over  tiie  opposing  forces  that  beset  him, 
show  how  well  and  how  wisely  he  has  maintained  the  contest. 

In  his  history,  no  man  can  tail  to  find  encouragement.  The  most  for- 
midable obstacles  yield  to  the  force  of  a  steady  determination,  and  often 
when  least  expected,  the  resolute  heart  finds  in  the  lessons  of  its  own 
experience,  the  truth  of  that  beautiful  Irish  expression,  "  there  is  a  silver 
lining  to  every  cloudP 

The  tendency  of  his  duties  and  studies  has  been  to  purify,  and  elevate, 
and  strengthen  the  moral  sense ;  and  to  inspire  respect  and  reverence  for 
those  immutable  moral  principles,  which  are  essential  to  the  welfare  of 
man  and  the  peace  of  society.  Purity  of  life,  in  every  relation,  is  of 
prime  importance  in  the  character  of  a  public  man.  Without  it,  genius, 
learning,  wit,  eloquence,  and  cultivation,  are  worse  than  in  vain.  Thej 
add  only  to  the  length  of  the  lever  by  which  vice  dissolves  the  fabric  of 


JAMES    GUTHRIE,    OF    KENTUCKY.  229 

individual  character  and  social  welfare?.  And  we  conceive  it  to  be  the 
highest  eulogium  we  can  bestow  upon  Mr.  Guthrie,  to  say  that  he  is  a 
pure  man. 

A  scholar  he  is,  and  a  ripe  one,  too,  but  he  is  not  a  learned  man  in 
the  common  acceptation  of  the  phrase.  He  has  dropped  the  speculative 
sciences  long  since,  and  given  his  mind  only  to  those  practical  pursuits 
which  in  a  country  like  ours  are  so  much  more  useful.  His  quick  per- 
ceptions make  him  a  man  of  true  sagacity ;  his  ardent  temperament  has 
given  uncommon  energy  to  his  character,  and  his  clear  reason  has 
purified  his  tastes,  and  made  his  judgment,  though  certainly  not  infallible, 
yet  in  the  main  altogether  reliable. 

But  the  strong  hold  he  has  on  the  affections  of  his  friends,  is  better 
accounted  for  by  his  attractive  social  and  moral  qualities.  The  unselfish 
and  generous  impulses  of  his  nature  do  not  permit  him  to  serve  &ny  one 
by  halves,  and  yet  his  oppqjients  have  never  had  cause  to  complain  that 
his  demeanor  towards  them  was  wanting  either  in  justice  or  in  courtesy. 
Sincerity,  that  first  of  virtues,  is  the  characteristic  trait  of  his  mind.  His 
whole  conduct  is  full  of  transparent  truthfulness.  His  speeches  are 
marked  with  a  sort  of  daring  plainness.  Concealment  of  his  opinions, 
whatever  may  be  the  effect  of  their  utterance  upon  himself  or  others, 
seems  with  him  to  be  out  of  the  question. 

His  heart's  his  mouth. 
What  his  breast  forges,  that  his  tongue  must  vent. 
He  would  not  flatter  Neptune  for  his  trident, 
Or  Jove  for  his  power  to  thunder. 

It  may  be  that  Mr.  Guthrie  will  retire,  after  the  close  of  the  present 
administration,  to  private  life.  At  all  events,  it  is  impossible  now  to  pre- 
dict whether  higher  honors  await  him  or  not.  But  no  matter  what  may 
be  his  future  career,  he  has  already  earned  the  title  of  an  able  lawyer,  an 
incorruptible  pubHc  servant,  and  an  honest  man.  Of  such  a  character  it 
is  fit  that  the  dignity  should  be  vindicated  and  the  value  made  known. 

As  a  father  and  husband,  he  is  most  affectionate  and  devoted.  His 
family  constitute  an  object  most  dear  to  his  heart ;  and  a  desire  to  ad- 
vance the  happiness  and  comfort  of  his  children  and  wife  is  a  paramount 
feeling.  When  not  forced  abroad  in  the  discharge  of  public  duties,  his 
own  fireside  forms  the  point  of  attraction,  where  he  can  always  be  found. 
With  a  warm  heart  and  generous  impulses,  he  is  the  centre  of  a  circle 
of  devoted  friends.  His  social  qualities  are  very  great.  Possessed  of  fine 
colloquial  powers,  he  never  fails  to  make  himself  both  instructive  and 
interesting  as  a  companion  ;  and  always  dignified  in  deportment,  yet  he 
is  easy  of  access,  and  especially  affable  to  the  young. 

In  closing  this  brief  memoir,  the  remark  seems  to  be  called  for,  that 
the  incidents  which  it  records,  may  not  be  altogether  useless  as  pre- 
senting for  consideration  the  notice  of  one  who,  in  defiance  of  seemingly 
adverse  circumstances  in  early  life,  has  risen  to  stations  of  official  promi- 
nence and  responsibility.  Our  country,  under  the  benign  influence  of 
her  admirable  republican  institutions,  has  furnished  many  such  instances  ; 
and  it  is  certainly  meet  that  all  such  should  have  an  enduring  record,  if 
for  no  other  purpose  than  to  encourage  others,  under  similar  disadvan- 


230  SKETCHES    OF    EMINENT   AMERICANS. 

tages,  to  struggle  manfully  and  hopefully  witli  the  difficulties  which  they 
are  called  to  encounter. 

Here  ends  this  brief  notice  of  Mr.  Guthrie,  which  cannot  be  very  satis- 
factory to  those  who  are  desirous  of  knowing  much  about  the  able  and 
energetic  head  of  the  Treasury  Department.  To  write  anything  like  a 
minute  biographical  notice  of  him  would  require  more  time  and  space 
than  can  now  be  given  to  the  subject ;  and  such  a  notice  would  comprise 
in  a  great  measure  a  political  and  forensic  history  of  the  State  of  Ken- 
tucky for  the  last  quarter  of  a  century. 


En^mvci  ¥br  Bw^rofAwc^  SketiAes  of  Ihrvm^n^  ^7nerica/hs 


ROBERT   m'cLEIsLAND,    OF    MICHIGAK.  231 

ROBERT  McClelland, 

SECRETARY    OF   THE    INTERIOR. 

Robert  McClelland,  of  Michigan,  is  a  native  of  Pennsylvania,  and  was 
born  at  New  Castle,  Franklin  county.  He  is  a  graduate  of  Dickinson 
college,  and  a  member  of  the  bar. 

After  his  admission,  in  1831,  he  removed  to  Pittsburg,  and  pursued  the 
practice  of  the  law  during  the  year  1832  at  that  place. 

In  1833  he  removed  to  Michigan,  and  established  himself  at  Monroe 
in  the  practice  of  his  profession.  The  convention  assembled  for  the  for- 
mation of  the  constitution  of  the  state  of  Michigan  in  1835,  preparatory 
to  her  admission  into  the  Union,  found  him  enrolled  amongst  its  most 
ardent,  able,  and  eloquent  members;  and  in  the  year  1838,  as  a  member 
of  her  legislature,  and  chairman  of  several  of  its  most  important  com- 
mittees, he  was  eminently  distinguished. 

After  the  political  contest  which  resulted  so  disastrously  to  the  demo- 
cratic party  in  1840,  Mr.  McClelland  was  the  acknowledged  leader,  around 
whom  the  faithful  few  gathered  together  in  the  councils  of  the  state,  for 
the  vindication  of  democratic  principles. 

The  confidence  of  the  democracy  was  justified,  the  ackno\\-..Jgment 
of  which  was  the  choice  of  their  champion  as  Speaker  of  the  pojiular 
branch  of  the  State  Legislature  in  the  year  1843. 

After  a  warmly  contested  election  in  1843,  he  was  elected  to  Congress 
by  a  majority  of  about  2500  votes  in  a  district  which  had  given  Howard, 
the  whig  nominee  in  1840,  a  tvhig  majority  of  500  over  his  popular  com- 
petitor, the  Hon,  Alpheus  Felch.  In  Congress,  as  a  member  of  the  com- 
mittee of  commerce,  his  report  and  advocacy  of  several  important  bills 
attracted  the  public  attention.  His  re-election  to  the  two  succeedmg 
Congresses — the  twenty-ninth  and  thirtieth — manifested  the  abiding  con- 
fidence of  his  constituency  ;  and  the  personal  estimation  in  which  his  cha- 
racter and  public  services  were  held  by  his  fellow-members  of  the  com- 
mittee of  commerce,  of  which  he  was  chairman,  was  pleasingly  evinced 
by  their  presentation  to  him  of  a  beautiful  cane  as  a  testimonial  of  official 
and  personal  regard.  During  the  ascendency  of  the  whig  party  in  Con- 
gress in  1848,  he  was  placed  on  the  committee  of  Foreign  Relations,  and 
had  under  his  peculiar  charge  the  French  spoliation  bill,  and  so  conducted 
himself  as  to  command  universal  respect  and  esteem. 

He  left  Congress  in  1849,  and  in  1850  became  a  member  of,  and  was 
considered  to  be  the  leader  in  the  constitutional  convention  of  Michigan. 
In  1851  he  was  elected  Governor  of  his  adopted  State  by  a  majority  of 
more  than  7,000,  and  was  re-elected  in  1852  by  an  increased  majority, 
with  a  popular  candidate  in  the  opposition,  of  over  8,000  votes. 

Upon  the  triumphant  restoration  of  the  democratic  party,  by  the 
almost  unexampled  unanimity  of  the  public  sentiment  in  the  election  of 
General  Pierce,  with  that  sagacity  which  pecuharly  distinguishes  the 
President,  he  selected  Governor  McClelland  for  the  most  interesting  and 
arduous,  if  not  the  most  important,  post  in  his  cabinet,  the  duties  of 
which  he  discharges  with  singular  ability  and  dispatch. 


232  SKETCHES    OF    EMINENT    AMERICANS.     ' 

Governor  McClelland  is  a  man  in  whom  the  elements  of  true  and  sub- 
stantial greatness  are  happily  and  harmoniously  blended ;  and  it  is  a 
fact,  no  less  tiaic  than  rare,  that  in  none  of  the  many  political  contests  in 
whii:h  he  has  been  engaged,  has  he  ever  been  personally  assailed  by  his 
opponents.  It  has  been  said,  since  his  entrance  into  the  cabinet,  that  he 
is  a  free-soiler ;  but  how  it  can  be  so  stated  with  truth,  it  is  difficult  to 
perceive.  On  the  slavery  question.  Governor  McClelland,  when  in  Con- 
gress, like  a  good  and  true  democrat,  represented  his  constituency ;  but 
he  never  was  in  favor  of  any  interference  with  the  peculiar  institutions 
of  the  South,  and  a  more  thorough  state-rights  man  than  he  is  not  to 
be  found  either  north  or  south. 

In  June,  1850,  which  was  previous  to  the  adoption  of  the  compromise 
measures  by  Congress,  the  members  of  the  Constitutional  Convention  of 
Michigan,  who  were  favorable  to  those  measures,  held  a  public  meeting 
and  adopted  strong  resolutions,  embracing  all  the  essential  features  of 
the  compromise  acts.  Those  resolutions  were  scrutinized  and  corrected 
by  him,  and  will  meet  the  sanction  and  approval  of  the  most  fastidious. 

In  the  fall  of  1850,  he  was  president  of  the  Democratic  State  Con- 
vention, which  adopted  strong  resolutions,  but  before ,  they  were  offered 
they  were  submitted  to  him,  and  by  him  examined  and  cordially  approved. 
Exceedingly  strong  resolutions  in  favor  of  all  the  compromise  measures 
were  likewise  offered  to  the  convention  which  nominated  him  for  gover- 
nor in  1851  ;*  and  in  his  address  to  the  convention,  after  having  been 
informed  of  his  nomination,  he  urged  his  friends  to  adopt  and  cling  to 
those  measures  as  a  final  settlement  of  the  vexed  question  of  slavery. 

In  company  with  General  Cass,  last,  fall,  he  canvassed  the  whole  State 
of  Michigan,  and  addressed  some  twenty  or  more  mass  meetings,  and 
always  advocated  a  full  and  faithful  recognition  of  the  constitutionality 
of  the  slavery  adjustment. 

(fovernor  McClelland  was  a  member  of  the  Baltimore  Conventions  of 
]  848  and  1852,  and  was  never  any  more  akin  to  a  free-soiler  than  General 
Cass,  whose  right-hand  man  he  was  in  the  contest  for  the  Presidency  in 
1848. 

lie  is  a  democrat  of  the  right  sort.  He  always  advocated  a  strict 
construction  of  the  constitution,  a  tariff  for  revenue  only,  the  independent 
treasury,  and  all  other  prominent  democratic  measures.  He  has  never 
yet  refused  to  conform  to  the  usages  of  the  party,  but  has  on  all  occa- 
sions energetically  supported  democratic  principles  and  the  nominees  of 
the  party,  whether  they  were  of  his  choice  or  not. 

■*Tlie  following  are  the  resolutions  referred  to: 

Reaolvcd,  That  the  recent  measures  of  compromise,  embracing  a  settlement  of 
the  distracting  questions  which  havo  disturbed  and  almost  interrupted  the  busi- 
ness of  Congress,  and  seriously  threatened  the  integrity  of  the  Union  itself,  were 
demanded  by  a  fair  consideration  of  the  constitutional  rights  of  the  various 
members  of  the  confederacy. 

That  the  democracy  of  Michigan,  pandering  to  no  hms,  rejecting  all  alliances 
with  sectional  factions,  having  in  view  the  irrepealable  claims  of  each  state  in 
the  Union,  and  yielding  onlj'  to  the  demands  of  the  constitution,  declare  empha- 
tically that  the  compromise  measures  stand  justified  in  the  eyes  of  every  well- 
wisher  of  his  countrj',  and  should  be  sustained  and  executed  in  all  their  partu 
faithfnlly,  fully,  and  impartially. 

Adopted  by  the  Convention  of  1851,  which  nominated  Mr.  McClelland  for 
Governor. 


ROBKRT    m'cLELLAND    OF    MICHIGAN.  233 

In  Michigan,  where  he  is  best  known,  he  is  esteemed  as  a  true,  con- 
sistent, and  firm  democrat ;  and  no  whig,  free-soiler,  or  other  opponent 
in  his  state  will  have  the  hardihood  to  charge  him  with  any  disregard  of 
the  constitutional  rights  of  the  South,  or  of  any  other  portion  of  our  free, 
happy,  and  glorious  Union. 

Governor  McClelland  has  now  had  charge  of  the  Department  of  the 
Interior  for  about  a  year,  and  the  public  may  entertain  a  pretty  correct 
appreciation  of  the  manner  in  which  lie  directs  its  dissimilar  and  compli- 
cated afiairs.  The  department  exercises  appellate  powers  over  all  the 
acts  of  the  Commissioners  of  the  Land,  Pension,  and  Indian  Offices,  and 
of  the  Public  Buildings;  and  partially  over  those  of  the  Commissioner 
of  Patent's,  the  Inspectors  of  the  Penitentiary  of  the  United  States  in  the 
District  of  Columbia,  and  the  accounts  of  United  States  marshals,  clerks, 
and  attorneys.  We  may  well  conceive  that  the  numerous,  important, 
and  diverse  questions  which  come  under  the  laws  governing  these  several 
classes  of  subjects,  ofter  no  bed  of  roses  for  the  head  of  the  department. 
It  is  our  opinion  that  the  Interior  Department  is  the  most  labonous,  com- 
plicated, and  difficult  to  manage  of  any.  But  Governor  McClelland,  by 
his  untiring  industry  and  application,  has  brought  up  much  business 
which  had  been  in  arrears  since  1847.  For  a  conscientious  discharge  of 
duty,  inflexible  integrity,  prudence,  and  soundness  of  judgment,  he  is 
unsurpassed.  He  seeks  rather  to  discharge  his  duties  quietly  and  ivell^ 
than  with  a  view  to  elicit  notice  or  applause.  He  is  very  methodical 
and  systematic,'  and  never  loses  the  most  perfect  control  of  himself.  He 
is  not  ambitious,  and  pays  but  little  attention  to  private  or  public  com- 
plimentary notices. 

Earlier  in  life,  Mr.  McClelland  won  a  high  reputation  as  a  brilliant 
speaker  and  powerful  debater;  to  the  justice  of  which  the  debates  in  the 
conventions  for  the  formation  and  amendment  of  the  constitution  of 
Michigan,  which  presents  throughout  the  impress  of  his  enlarged  states- 
manship and  democratic  spiiit,  bear  ample  testimony. 

Matured  experience,  in  high  public  trusts,  has  elevated  his  sentiments 
beyond  that  meretricious  ambition,  which  has  been  justly  termed  "  the 
bust  infirmity  of  noble  minds,"  to  the  purer  and  loftier  aim  of  usefulness 
to  his  country  and  to  mankind.  Above  no  occasion,  yet  equal  to  all, 
whatever  may  be  his  future  destiny,  history  has  already  inscribed  his 
name  in  the  annals  of  his  country,  among  the  imperishable  few,  as  a 
good,  wise,  and  useful  citizen. 

As  a  lawyer,  he  enjoyed  great  popularity.  He  was  always  disposed 
to  disregard  mere  quibbles  and  nice  technicalities,  and  desired  to  see 
every  case  stand  or  fall  on  its  broad  merits.  He  never  resorted  to  tricks 
or  subterfuges  to  insure  success,  and  held  in  contempt  all  who  did.  He 
was,  perhaps,  more  powerful  before  the  jury  than  the  court.  Always 
himself  above  suspicion,  plain  and  candid,  his  mere  assertion  had  great 
weight  with  jurors  in  spite  of  themselves.  There  is  a  thrilling  sincerity 
in  his  manner  that  cannot  be  easily  resisted  ;  and  his  oratory  is  different 
from  any  described  in  the  books — it  is  original  and  peculiar.  He  seldom 
uses  quotations,  nor  often  refers  to  authorities  to  sustain  his  argument ; 
indulges  in  no  flights  of  fancy,  or  rhetorical  flourishes.  He  comes  at 
once  to  the  subject,  and  by  a  masterly  statement  and  thrilling  sincerity 
of  manner,  removes  any  prejudices  which  might  have  been  entertained, 


234  SKETCHES    OF    EMINENT    AMERICANS. 

and  wins  the  sympathy  and  judgment  of  his  auditory.  There  is  no 
mere  declamation,  no  bombast  in  his  speaking.  Simplicity  is  the  chief 
characteristic  of  the  man,  and  especially  is  it  characteristic  of  his  speak- 
ing. There  is  a  plainness  and  directness  about  it  which  makes  him 
always  intelligible  to  the  dullest  comprehension.  His  keen  and  quick 
perception  instantly  detects  the  weak  points  of  his  adversary,  and  they 
are  laid  bare  as  with  a  dissecting  knife,  while  his  unerring  sagacity 
enables  him  to  seize,  and  set  forth  prominently,  the  strong  points  of 
his  own  case.  He  speaks  better  than  he  writes,  and  speaks  with  little 
or  no  preparation  as  to  what  he  is  to  say,  relying  upon  the  ins])iration 
of  the  moment ;  he  warms  up  and  rises  in  grandeur  as  he  progresses 
with  his  subject. 

But  it  is  chiefly  as  a  private  citizen  Governor  McClelland  is  to  be 
admired.  Estimable  in  all  the  relations  of  life,  strictly  moral,  his  influ- 
ence is  actively  exerted  in  aiding  whatever  is  calculated  to  promote  the 
good  of  society. 

Mr.  McClelland  is  distinguished  for  his  firmness  and  decision  of  cha- 
racter ;  and  whether  in  the  aft'airs  of  life,  or  in  the  discharge  of  his  pro- 
fessional duties,  for  great  self-reliance.  Yet  it  must  not  be  inferred  that, 
because  these  are  distinguishing  traits  of  his  character,  he  is  obstinate  or 
dogmatic ;  on  the  contrary,  no  one  is  more  ready  to  receive  afiy  counsel 
which  may  tend  to  enlighten  his  judgment.  It  is  only  when  that  judg- 
ment is  formed,  and  when  he  is  fully  convinced  of  its  correctness,  that  he 
is  unswerving  and  uncompromising. 

We  cannot  conclude  this  brief  sketch  without  some  observation  on 
the  private  worth  of  Governor  McClelland.  We  know  of  no  man  whose 
character,  in  this  respect,  will  bear  a  severer  scrutiny.  In  all  the  trans- 
actions of  life,  his  conduct  is  marked  by  the  most  scrupulous  integrity, 
and  he  guards  his  honor  with  that  sensitive  care  which  has  ever  kept  it 
far  above  suspicion.  The  hearty  cordiality  of  his  manner  inspires  full 
confidence  in  the  integrity  of  his  heart,  and  an  acquaintance  at  once 
desires  to  become  a  friend.  When  that  relation  is  established,  he  com- 
prehends its  duties  in  the  largest  extent,  and  satisfies  its  demands  with  a 
ready,  indeed  unnecessary  generosity. 


':jt.j::-ii<iiLr  cjr  iv:ah. 


I^n^/'r/'  fiir  JjW^rafi/t7Cfi.l- Ske(£hAs  fff  2.^irien^  ./fmer/.ra^i.r,. 


JEFFERSON    DAVIS,    OF    MISSISSIPPI.  236 

JEFFERSON    DAVIS, 

SECRETARY  OF  WAR. 

Colonel  Jefferson  Davis,  the  subject  of  this  memoir,  is  a  native 
of  Kentucky.  During  infancy,  his  father  removed  to  the  Territory  of 
Mississippi,  now  Wilkinson  county.  Young  Davis,  after  an  academic 
course  at  home,  entered  Transylvania  College,  Kentucky,  where  he 
remained  until  his  appointment  as  cadet,  and  was  sent  to  the  United 
States  Military  Academy  at  West  Point  in  1842. 

In  June,  1828,  he  graduated  at  that  institution,  Avas  appointed  a  brevet 
second  Lieutenant,  and  served  as  an  infantry  and  staft"  officer  upon  the 
Northern  frontier  until  1833,  exhibiting  such  ability  that  he  was  then 
promoted  to  a  first  lieutenancy  in  the  new  regiment  of  Dragoons.  He 
served  throughout  the  celebrated  "  Black  Hawk  war"  in  the  North  West, 
doing  efficient  service,  often  being  detailed  upon  important  and  danger- 
ous duties.  During  this  campaign,  the  celebrated  Indian  chief.  Black 
H.'iwk,  was  captured,  and  while  in  captivity  he  formed  an  attachment 
for  the  gallant  young  Lieutenant  that  only  ceased  with  the  life  of  that 
brave  Indian.  From  1833  to  1835  he  served  on  the  Western  frontier, 
and  was  engaged  in  the  expedition  against  the  Camanches  and  Pawnees, 
which  first  penetrated  their  mountain  fastnesses,  and  reduced  them  to  the 
necessity  of  sueing  for  a  treaty  of  peace. 

In  1835  he  resigned  his  commission,  and  returned  to  Mississippi,  re- 
suming civil  life  in  the  peaceful  occupation  of  a  cotton  planter, — employing 
his  leisure  hours  in  the  prosecution  of  those  studies,  a  thorough  knowledge 
of  which  has  since  enabled  him  to  take  an  enviable  stand  among  the 
statesmen  and  practically  scientific  men  of  the  day.     Thus  engaged, 

"  Far  from  the  madding  crotvd's  ignoble  strife" 

he  remained  but  little  known  beyond  his  immediate  neighborhood,  until 
1843,  when  he  emerged  into  public  life,  taking  an  active  part  in  behalf 
of  the  democracy  of  his  state,  making  such  an  impression  upon  the  peo- 
ple, that  in  1844  they  chose  him  Presidential  elector  for  the  state  at 
large,  on  the  "Polk  and  Dallas"  ticket.  In  November,  1845,  he  was 
elected  congressional  representative,  in  which  capacity  he  remained  until 
July,  1846,  when,  although  absent  from  his  state  attending  Congress,  he 
was  unanimously  elected  their  Colonel  by  the  celebrated  first  regiment 
of  Mississippi  volunteers,  then  enlisting  for  the  war  with  Mexico.  Upon 
notification  of  this,  he  immediately  resigned  his  seat  in  Congress,  and 
after  procuring  for  his  regiment,  against  much  opposition  and  prejudice, 
the  arms  since  so  celebrated,  and  known  from  the  effective  use  his  men 
made  of  them,  as  the  "  Mississippi  Rifles,"  he  hastened  to  join  his  men 
at  New  Orleans,  en  route  for  the  seat  of  war,  and  soon  reinforced  General 
Taylor  upon  the  Rio  Grande. 

It  would  far  exceed  the  limits  of  this  memoir  to  give  even  a  resume  of 
the  part  which  he,  with  his  gallant  Mississippians,  took  in  that  memorable 
campaign.     Suffice  it  to  say  that  he  won  for  himself  a  memorable  name 


236  SKETCHES    OF    EMINENT    AMERICANS. 

at  Monterey  and  Buena  Vista, — the  part  that  he  took  in  the  latter  vic- 
tory being  "such  that  he  is  now  familiarly  known  by  the  sobriquet  of 
"  Buena  Vista." 

The  late  General  Taylor,  in  his  dispatch  of  March  6th,  1847,  with 
characteristic  brevity,  says  :  "  The  Mississippi  riflemen,  under  Col.  Davis, 
were  highly  conspicuous  for  their  gallantry  and  steadiness,  and  sustained 
throughout  the  engagement  the  reputation  of  veteran  troops.  Brought 
into  action  against  an  immensely  superior  force,  they  maintained  them- 
selves for  a  long  time  unsupported,  and  with  heavy  loss,  and  held  an 
important  part  in  the  field  until  reinforced.  Col.  Davis,  though  severely 
wounded,  remained  in  the  saddle  until  the  dose  of  the  action.  His  dis- 
tinguished coolness  and  gallantry  at  the  head  of  his  regiment  on  this  day 
entitle  him  to  the  particular  notice  of  the  govcrnmentr 

At  the  expiration  of  the  term  of  enlistment  of  his  regiment,  he  was  or- 
dered home  with  the  mere  handful  that  was  left  of  his  gallant  men  ;  and 
while  in  New  Orleans,  he  received  from  President  Polk  a  commission  as 
Brigadier  General  of  volunteers.  Considering  this  an  invasion  of  the 
rights  of  the  States — a  power  usurped  by  Congress  and  by  them  vested 
in  the  President — and  a  violation  of  that  provision  of  the  Constitution 
which  reserves  to  the  States  respectively  the  appointment  of  the  officers 
of  the  militia,  he  consistently  declined  the  tempting  off"er,  and  continued 
his  homeward  journey  by  the  Mississippi  river  to  enjoy  domestic  quiet, 
and  recover  of  a  wound  received  at  Buena  Vista  which  threatened  to  maim 
him  for  life. 

His  progress  homeward  was  a  continuous  triumphal  procession. 

In  1847  he  received  an  Executive  appointment  as  United  States  Sena- 
tor to  fill  a  vacancy,  and  at  the  ensuing  session  of  the  State  Legislature, 
was  unanimously  elected  to  the  same  post  for  the  next  six  years. 

The  following  incident,  which  is  said  to  have  occurred  while  he  was  a 
member  of  the  House,  will  serve  to  illustrate  the  high  promise  of  states- 
manship exhibited  by  him  in  his  first  speech  before  that  body. 

It  was  the  habit  of  ex-President  John  Q.  Adams,  then  in  the  House 
of  Representatives,  to  closely  observe  new  members,  always  seating 
himself  near  when  they  were  about  making  their  Parliamentary  debut, 
eyeing  them  and  listening  attentively — sitting  out  their  speech  if 
it  pleased  him,  but  soon  leaving  if  it  did  not.  When  Colonel  Davis  had 
arisen  for  the  first  time  on  the  floor,  Mr.  Adams,  as  usual,  took  a  seat  near 
him,  and  was  soon  absorbed  in  close  attention.  Those  who  knew  this 
habit  of  the  "old  man  eloquent,"  soon  perceived  that  the  new  member 
had  impressed  him  deeply.  He  sat  until  the  conclusion  of  the  speech 
— his  attention  riveted  upon  the  orator ;  and  then  arose,  and  crossing 
over  to  some  of  his  friends,  remarked,  "  That  young  man,  gentlemen,  is 
no  ordinary  man.     He  will  make  his  mark  yet,  mind  me." 

While  in  the  Senate,  he  was  chairman  of  the  committee  on  military 
afi'airs,  rendering,  by  reason  of  his  thorough  acquaintance  with  its  busi- 
ness, efficient  service  to  that  branch  of  the  government  he  now  adminis- 
ters so  ably.  Being  a  Southerner,  a  Jeftersonian  State's  Rights  man,  and 
a  believer  in  the  "  right  of  instruction,"  he  took  an  active  part  in  the 
debates  of  the  day  upon  the  slavery  questions,  advocating  the  rights  of  the 
States  and  of  the  South  so  ably  as  at  once  to  place  himself  in  the  front 
rank  of  the  Democratic  leaders. 


JEFFERSON    DAVIS,    OF    MISSISSIPPI.  237 

In  September,  1851,  after  the  withdrawal  of  General  Quitman  as  can- 
didate for  Governor  of  Mississippi,  Colonel  Davis  accepted  a  call  of  the 
democracy  to  fill  the  vacant  candidacy,  and  at  once  resigned  his  seat  in 
the  Senate  from  a  principle  entertained  by  him  that  the  public  had  a 
right  to  indicate  his  post  of  duty,  and  that  no  citizen  should  be  a  candi- 
date for  one  office  while  holding  another.  Although  he  became  a  candi- 
date only  some  four  or  five  weeks  before  the  election  took  place,  and 
was  suft'ering  from  severe  illness  during  that  time,  while  his  opponent  had 
been  stumping  the  State  for  several  months  before  the  Colonel's  an- 
nouncement of  his  acceptance,  and  continued  to  do  so  zealously'  to  the 
last  day  of  the  canvass :  still,  by  the  popularity  of  his  name  alone,  Mr. 
Davis  reduced  the  majority  that  the  opposition  had  shown  at  the  "  Con- 
vention election,"  two  months  previous,  of  some  7,500  to  only  999.  Had 
the  election  been  but  a  week  or  two  later,  or  had  he  been  able  to  take 
the  stump,  it  is  both  demonstrated  by  the  figures,  and  admitted  by  Hs 
opponents,  that  he  would  have  triumphed. 

He  remained  upon  his  plantation,  Briarfield,  content  in  the  quiet  of 
his  family,  only  leaving  home  to  advocate,  in  his  own  State,  Louisiana, 
and  Tennessee,  the  election  of  General  Pierce,  until  his  appointment  as 
Secretary  of  War,  the  post  he  now  holds  with  so  much  credit  to  the 
choice  of  the  President,  and  advantage  to  that  arm  of  the  Government. 

In  stature,  Colonel  Davis  is  of  medium  size,  slender  and  straight :  his 
habits  active,  energetic,  and  assiduous ;  his  carriage  dignified  and  mili- 
tary. His  manners  are  affable,  courteous,  and  frank ;  his  passions — slow 
to  work — are  deep  and  lasting,  his  friendships  and  enmities  being  equally 
hearty.  His  mind  is  active  ;  his  judgment  strong  ;  his  perceptions  clear ; 
his  reflection  deep,  and  his  acquirements  thorough  and  extensive. 

In  politics,  he  is  a  JefFersonian  and  a  strict  constructionist.  As  a  pub- 
lic man,  he  has  ever  acted  upon  his  cardinal  principle,  that  no  one  should 
seek  oflice ;  or,  having  become  a  public  man,  decline  to  serve  the  people 
in  whatever  capacity  they  should  desire  his  services  ;  that  having  become 
a  public  man,  he  is,  so  long  as  he  remains  such,  a  servant  of  the  people, 
and,  as  such,  should  permit  them,  rather  than  himself,  to  choose  in  what 
capacity  he  should  act. 

A  stranger  would  at  once  say  of  Mr.  Davis,  that  he  was  a  clear,  strong- 
headed,  common-sense  man  ;  cautious  and  wary  in  taking  his  premises, 
certain  and  irresistible  in  his  conclusions  from  them.  This  is  the  secret 
of  his  success  in  life — he  never  commits  a  folly.  It  is  to  his  practical 
sagacity,  in  a  great  measure,  that  he  is  indebted  for  his  success.  No  art 
of  his  adversary  can  draw  him  into  collateral  or  immaterial  issues  ;  he 
selects  the  best  ground,  and  wages  his  battle  there.  Although  his  ac- 
quaintance with  books  is  large,  yet  he  makes  no  unnecessary  display  of 
learning.  As  a  speaker,  Mr.  Davis  is  earnest  and  fluent — his  language, 
though  never  ornate,  is  always  vigorous ;  and  it  may  safely  be  said  that 
he  never  uses  two  words  where  one  will  answer  his  purpose. 

We  should  be  glad  to  add  to  our  notice  of  him  as  a  public  man,  from 
the  materials  at  hand,  a  few  of  those  incidents  which  reveal  so  accu- 
rately the  personal  traits  of  his  character ;  but  the  design  of  our  work 
will  limit  us.  As  a  private  citizen,  he  is  no  less  entitled  to  praise  than 
as  a  faithful  public  officer;  it  is  the  perfect  private  citizen  who  makes 
the  perfect  public  man. 


238  SKETCHES    OF    EMINENT    AMERICANS. 

His  success  in  life  has  been  the  result  of  his  own  exertions,  and  not  of 
that  good  luck  which  the  world  (little  understanding  what  the  word  im- 
ports) so  often  ascribes  to  those  who  rise  unaided  to  distinction.  No  man 
knew  better  how  to  time  his  eflforts  ;  and  while  he  never  wasted  his  force 
on  worthless  and  unattainable  objects,  he  well  knew  when  to  take  advan- 
tage of  opportunities — and  when  once  he  decided,  no  man  pursued  his 
object  with  more  fearlessness  or  energy.  Free  from  all  intolerance  of 
spirit,  he  yet  never  fails  to  show  his  scorn  of  falsehood  or  meanness. 
Without  ostentation,  either  in  his  manners  or  style  of  life,  he  always 
maintains  the  air  and  polish  of  a  gentleman,  and  lives  surrounded  by  all 
the  elegance  and  refinements  which  are  the  type  of  a  well  disciplined 
taste. 

We  commend  his  example  to  the  young  men  of  our  country  who  yearn 
for  honor  and  reward.  There  is  a  noble  field  in  our  great  Republic, 
where  our  institutions  not  only  guarantee  the  freest  competition,  but 
invite  it. 


^^^L^.  ^ 


^>^ 


7ZNI2:ED  SZ^T£S  post  M^STJSJl    oi:a', 


'■  ^rBiofrapfuea/,  Sketchy  a/'Jin- 


JAMES    CAMPBELL,    OF    PENNSYLVANIA.  239 

JAMES    CAMPBELL, 

POSTMASTER-GENERAL. 

The  present  Postmaster-General  of  the  United  States,  is  the  youngest 
naember  of  the  cabinet  of  President  Pierce,  except  the  Secretary  of  the 
Navy,  Mr.  Dobbin.  Mr.  Dobbin  is  thirty-nine  years  of  age,  and  Mr. 
Campbell  forty.  It  is  a  significant  characteristic  of  American  progress 
that  our  young  men  wield  great,  if  not  commanding  power  in  public  affairs. 
Nor  is  this  the  case  to  the  exclusion  of  men  of  riper  years.  It  is  the 
result  of  a  great  political  and  social  necessity.  Fortunes,  in  this  country, 
are  constantly  changing  hands,  and  we  have  no  such  institutions  fostered 
by  our  laws  as  the  system  of  old  and  honorable  families.  The  son  of 
the  rich  man  of  to-day,  may,  in  his  turn,  be  the  father  of  the  poor  man 
of  to-morrow.  Nor  are  the  glittering  heights  of  fame  and  influence 
always  attainable  by  the  offspring  of  wealthy  parents.  Hence  it  is,  that 
self-education  and  self-reliance  are  the  marked  elements  of  the  American 
character.  Hence  it  is,  that  long  before  an  Englishman  may  be  said  to 
be  ready  to  begin  the  world,  the  citizen  in  this  great  Republic  is  probably 
an  influential  legislator,  or  a  leading  man  in  his  own  community.  The 
amount  of  service  that  one  man  may  thus  confer  upon  his  country  and 
upon  his  fellow  beings,  cannot  very  readily  be  over-estimated.  Our  old 
men  are  not  the  less  serviceable  because  they  begin  public  life  early. 
The  school  they  pass  through  before  they  reach  the  Psalmist's  age,  is 
not  only  valuable  to  them  but  to  their  children,  and  their  children's 
children,  and  thus  the  intellects  that  pass  from  the  stage  are  constantly 
revived  and  renewed  in  those  who  follow  them. 

James  Campbell  is  the  son  of  an  adopted  citizen.  His  father  emi- 
grated from  Ireland,  at  the  close  of  the  last  century ;  and  by  his  indus- 
try and  thrift,  was  enabled  to  give  his  children  a  thorough  education. 
The  object  of  our  sketch  exhibited,  at  an  early  day,  those  sterling  traits 
of  character  which  have  made  him  so  influential  and  so  successful  through 
life.  He  became  a  member  of  the  bar,  resolved  upon  success.  His  per- 
severing, energetic,  prompt,  and  inquiring  mind  soon  gave  him  a  high 
rank  among  the  proverbially  able,  acute,  and  eloquent  members  of  the 
legal  profession  in  Philadelphia;  and  at  the  age  of  twenty-nine  he  was 
appointed  judge  of  the  court  of  common  pleas  of  that  city  and  county — 
having  been  unanimously  recommended  for  that  station  by  the  delegates 
in  the  Legislature  from  the  county,  and  unanimously  confirmed  by  the 
state  senate.  His  position  was  well  calculated  to  task  his  intellect  and 
his  firmness;  but,  during  nine  years,  he  discharged  its  various  duties, 
onerous  and  exacting,  to  the  satisfaction  of  all  parties.  At  the  end  of 
that  time  (1850),  the  Judiciary  was  made  elective,  by  a  change  in  the 
constitution  of  Pennsylvania;  and  at  the  first  ensuing  election,  in  1851, 
Judge  Campbell,  while  on  the  common  pleas  bench,  was  nominated  by 
the  democratic  party  one  of  the  five  democratic  candidates  for  the 
supreme  court  of  the  state.  The  Convention  which  placed  his  name 
before  the  people  for  that  high  position  was  composed  mainly  of  lawyers, 
including  some  of  the  most  eminent  and  distinguished  intellects  of  the 


240  SKETCHES    OF    EMINENT    AMERICANS. 

state.  Two  thirds  of  this  body  voted  for  the  nomination  of  Judge 
Campbell.  In  their  address  to  the  people,  sustaining  their  selections, 
they  spoke  of  Judge  Campbell  in  the  following  eloquent  terras  : — 

"  Naturally  modest  and  unobtrusive,  although  possessed  of  excellent 
talents  and  extensive  legal  attainments,  he  has  not  sought  opportunities 
to  exhibit  himself  before  the  public.  He  has  performed  his  duties  with 
exemplary  hdelity,  and  his  legal  opinions  have  been  marked  for  their 
accuracy,  perspicuity,  and  system.  In  all  the  relations  of  life.  Judge 
Campbell  has  sustained  an  unblemished  reputation.  Pure,  well  educated, 
honest,  and  inflexible ;  combining  with  these,  gentlemanly  deportment 
and  manners,  he  possesses  a  strong  mind  and  sound  judgment.  lie  has 
a  large  circle  of  warm  and  devoted  friends,  who  have  known  him  from 
his  youth,  and  who  rejoice  in  his  elevation,  by  the  energy  of  his  cha- 
racter, to  the  position  which  he  holds,  and  also  cherish  him  for  his  inte- 
grity, talents,  and  social  virtues." 

But,  notwithstanding  this  high  tribute  to  a  tried  and  trusted  jurist, 
and  to  an  esteemed  and  irreproachable  citizen,  he  was  defeated  at  the 
election.  It  is  not  necessary  that  we  should  dwell  upon  the  causes 
which  produced  this  result.  Suffice  it  to  say  that  Judge  Campbell  was 
defeated  solely  by  a  sectarian  combination  of  bigotry  and  intolerance. 
During  all  this  excitement,  however — even  while  pursued  and  persecuted 
— ^he  bore  himself  with  a  fortitude  and  calmness  which  elicited  spon- 
taneous admiration.  So  well  established  was  the  character  of  Judge 
Campbell,  and  so  wide  and  general  the  feeling  which  followed  the  result 
of  the  election  in  1851,  that  as  soon  as  Mr.  Bigler,  the  popular  and 
intrepid  chief  magistrate  of  Pennsylvania,  elected  that  year,  came  to 
select  his  cabinet  counsellors,  the  name  of  James  Campbell  was  pointed 
out,  by  emphatic  demonstrations  of  public  opinion,  as  one  that  would  be 
most  satisfactory  to  the  democratic  masses.  Governor  Bigler  accord- 
ingly appointed  him  attorney-general,  in  January,  1852.  That  he  filled 
this  high  trust  with  eminent  ability,  sagacity,  and  energy,  even  his 
adversaries  have  never  denied.  During  the  presidential  election  of  1852, 
Judge  Campbell  was  enabled  to  render  great  and  signal  service  to  the 
democratic  party.  Owing  to  circumstances,  the  state  was  for  a  time 
regarded  as  extremely  doubtful ;  and  it  was  in  that  crisis  his  high 
and  patriotic  character  shone  conspicuous.  Nobly  forgetting  the  per- 
sonal injury  inflicted  by  those  of  his  own  party  who  had  caused  his 
defeat,  and  mindful  only  of  his  duty  to  his  principles,  he  threw  himself 
into  the  contest,  and,  with  enthusiastic  perseverance  and  ability,  devoted 
himself  to  the  work.  Thousands  rememberud  his  own  defeat  in  the 
feelings  of  deep  and  resistless  indignation  ;  and,  to  add  to  their  feel- 
ings arising  from  this  cause,  the  whig  leaders  were  energetically  attempt- 
ing to  arouse  their  prejudices  against  President  Pierce  himself.  .  Judge 
Campbell  boldly  took  issue  with  this  movement ;  and  it  is  not  going  too 
far  to  say  that  to  his  appeals,  to  his  eloquence,  to  his  tact  and  skill,  were 
the  democracy  indebted  for  the  reconciliation  which  followed.  Indeed, 
it  was  then,  as  it  is  now,  admitted,  that  to  him  more  than  to  any  other 
man  was  Pennsylvania  indebted  for  the  two  signal  victories  in  October 
and  November,  1852. 

When  President  Pierce  called  Judge  Campbell  into  his  cabinet,  he 
acted  upon  that  knowledge  of  politics  and  of  men,  which  is  so  strongly 


JAMES    CAMrUELL,    OF    PENNSYLVANIA.  241 

his  characteristic.  He  knew  the  history,  as  well  as  the  tone  and 
temper  of  the  uew  postmaster-general.  Judge  Campbell  has  now  been 
about  nine  months  at  the  head  of  that  most  intricate  and  responsible 
department.  That  he  is  a  popular  executive  officer,  even  his  opponents 
admit,  and  that  he  is  prompt,  indefatigable,  ready,  and  bold,  all  who  have 
watched  his  career  willingly  testify. 

Few  men  have  occupied  a  higher  position  upon  the  Pennsylvania 
bench  than  Judge  Campbell.  Regarding  the  study  of  law,  not  merely  as 
a  matter  of  professional  duty,  but  as  the  investigation  of  an  intricate  and 
beautiful  science,  he  devoted  the  powers  of  his  fine  intellect  to  it .  not 
more  as  a  means  of  advancement  in  his  profession,  than  as  a  matter  of 
taste  and  subject  of  intellectual  pleasure.  With  a  mind  eminently  legal 
in  its  character — with  reasoning  powers,  active,  rapid,  and  accurate — 
with  that  peculiar  mental  faculty  which  enables  the  possessor  to  disen- 
cumber the  subject  before  him  of  all  surplus  matter,  and  follow  the 
correct  line  of  argument  without  danger  of  deviation,  he  united  to 
great  research  much  analytical  ability  and  deep  thought.  Thus  fitted 
by  nature  and  education  for  its  study — viewing  it  in  this  light,  and 
investigating  it  with  this  double  impulse  and  purpose,  he  could  not  be 
content  with  that  comparatively  superficial  knowledge  which  might 
have  answered  the  dem.ands  of  practice,  but  closely  and  carefully 
searched  into  the  anatomy  of  English  and  American  jurisprudence. 
Familiar  to  a  remarkable  degree  with  the  minutise  of  English  history, 
particularly  of  those  times  when  law  was  erected  into  a  system — look- 
ing not  merely  to  the  prominent  features  of  that  system,  but  to  the 
causes  which  led  to,  and  the  circumstances  attendant  upon  the  introduc- 
tion of  those  features,  he  learned  to  attend  less  to  the  letter  than  to 
the  great  purpose  and  spirit  of  law.  His  mind  thus  early  became  im- 
bued with  those  great  leading  principles  which  form  the  only  solid 
basis  of  legal  learning,  and  are  the  rules  by  which  alone  the  cor- 
rectness of  individual  decisions  can  be  accurately  tested.  Making  him- 
self acquainted  with  all  important  decisions  of  English  and  American 
courts,  a  remarkably  retentive  memory  enabled  him  not  only  to  re- 
collect the  prominent  points  decided  in  each  cause,  but  most  usually 
the  detailed  history  of  the  case,  and  the  finer  and  more  delicate 
legal  distinctions  which  were  drawn  in  its  progress.  This  course 
of  study  while  at  the  bar,  with  his  clear  views  of  legal  philosophy 
and  analogy,  enabled  him,  upon  coming  to  the  bench,  to  decide  the 
difficult  questions  arising  in  his  courts,  not  seldom  upon  imadjudicated 
points,  with  great  rapidity,  and  little  consultation  of  authority. 

In  friendly,  social  intercoui-se,  he  has  few  superiors.  Possessing  a  fund 
of  information  which  seems  not  only  to  embrace  every  clime  and  every 
subject,  but  all  the  prominent  personages  of  every  country  and  every 
time ;  a  knowledge  of  the  classics,  which  comprehends  not  merely  the 
leading  authors  of  Grecian  and  Roman  literature,  but  the  rich  and 
varied  fields  of  learning  connected  with  them ; — a  fine  dramatic 
taste,  and  a  familiar  acquaintance  with  the  leading  playwrights ; — 
an  acquaintance  with  history,  including  not  only  the  narrative  of  events, 
but  extending  to  its  minor  details,  and  the  manners  and  customs  of 
nations  at  the  difierent  periods  of  their  existence ; — a  biographical 
knowledge  of  the  men  of  Europe  and  America,  which,  not   confining 

VOL.  lU.  16 


242  SKETCHES    OF   EMINENT    AMERICANS. 

itself  to  their  history  as  politicians  or  men  of  science,  extends  to  their 
private  lives  and  characters — with  much  of  the  quaint  lore  of  the 
antiquary ; — a  fund  of  anecdote,  and  a  vein  of  quiet  humor  seldom  sur- 
passed; with  rare  conversational  powers — clothing  his  ideas  in  lan- 
guage at  once  simple  and  elegant — imparting  his  information  with  that 
absence  of  pretension  which  evidences  an  entire  freedom  from  pedantry — 
there  are  very  few  who  do  not  derive  both  pleasure  and  instruction  from 
his  society. 

With  the  quiet,  easy  manner  of  a  gentleman,  at  home  in  any  company 
and  welcome  in  all ;  with  that  true  politeness  which,  appearing  to  recog- 
nise no  difference  in  men,  extends  the  same  dignified  courtesy  to  the 
humblest  and  poorest  as  to  the  highest  and  most  influential ;  with  that 
mino-led  pride  and  delicacy  of  character  which  will  flatter  the  vanity  and 
wound  the  feelings  of  no  one  ;  plain,  unostentatious,  and  unpretending,  it 
is  difficult  to  know  without  admiring  him,  and  he  is  believed  to  be  with- 
out a  personal  enemy.  In  his  intercourse  with  his  fellow  men,  his  frank 
and  cordial  address  makes  for  him  hosts  of  friends.  His  attention  to  the 
multiplied  details  of  his  office,  and  his  comprehensive  and  masterly  man- 
agement of  its  extended  and  extending  operations,  are  felt  and  acknow- 
ledged in  all  parts  of  the  country. 

The  portrait  of  Judge  Campbell  which  acompanies  this  sketch,  does 
ample  justice  to  his  fine,  expressive,  and  classic  countenance. 


CALEB    CUSHrNG,    OF    MASSACHUSETTS.  243 

CALEB    GUSHING, 

ATTORNEY    GENERAL    OF    THE    UNITED    STATES, 

Is  well  known  tbroughout  the  United  States  as  a  distinguished  politician 
and  eminent  scholar.  Mr.  Gushing  was  born  in  Salisbury,  Essex  County, 
Massachusetts,  in  January,  1800,  and  consequently  is  now  in  his  fifty- 
fourth  year.  His  father,  belonging  to  one  of  the  most  respectable  old 
families  of  Massachusetts,  was  extensively  engaged  in  the  shipping  busi- 
ness, by  which  he  acquired  a  handsome  fortune.  Caleb  Gushing  entered 
Harvard  College  when  very  young,  and  graduated  in  the  eighteenth  year 
of  his  age.  He  commenced  the  study  of  the  law  at  Cambridge,  and 
was  appointed  tutor  of  mathematics  and  natural  philosophy  in  Harvard 
College,  which  place  he  held  for  two  years,  and  then  removed  to  New- 
buryport,  to  engage  in  the  practice  of  law.  In  his  profession  he  was 
very  successful,  and  acquired  the  reputation  of  a  good  lawyer.  The 
political  career  of  Mr.  Gushing  commenced  in  1825,  when  he  was  chosen 
a  representative  from  Newburyport  to  the  lower  house  of  the  Massachu- 
setts Legislature.  In  1826,  he  was  elected  a  member  of  the  State  Senate. 
Both  these  places  he  filled  with  ability,  and  to  the  satisfaction  of  his  con- 
stituents. After  this  he  continued  in  the  practice  of  the  law  for  two 
years ;  and  in  1829»he  went  to  Europe  on  a  tour  of  pleasure  and  observation. 
On  his  return,  he  prepared  for  the  press  and  published  his  "  Reminiscences 
of  Spain,"  a  work  which  added  much  to  his  literary  reputation.  He  also 
appeared  as  the  author  of  a  "Historical  and  Political  Review  of  the 
Revolution  in  France,"  in  1830.  About  the  same  time  he  was  a  con- 
tributor to  the  North  American  Review,  writing  mainly  on  historical  and 
legal  subjects.  Mr.  Gushing  was  again  elected  to  the  Massachusetts 
Legislature  in  1833  and  1834.  He  made  several  unsuccessful  runs  for 
Congress,  but  was  finally  elected  to  represent  the  North  Essex  District  in 
1835.  His  congressional  career  continued  for  four  consecutive  terms,  or 
eight  yeai-s,  viz  :  from  1835  to  1843.  Having  commenced  public  life  as 
a  friend  of  John  Quincy  Adams,  Mr.  Gushing  acted  with  the  whig  pai'ty, 
both  in  the  State  Legislature  and  in  Congress,  until  the  administration 
of  John  Tyler,  when  he  was  one  of  the  few  whigs  who  ventured  to  sus- 
tain the  course  of  that  president  in  abandoning  his  political  friends.  The 
consequence  to  Mr.  Gushing  was  his  separation  from  the  whig  party,  and 
eventually  his  connexion  with  the  democratic  party  for  the  last  ten 
years. 

As  a  member  of  Congress  he  evinced  decided  ability,  and  his  speeches 
and  reports  showed  in  the  most  favorable  light  his  statesmanlike  qualifi- 
cation. In  1843,  President  Tyler  nominated  Mr.  Gushing  as  one  of  his 
cabinet,  but  the  Senate  refused  to  confirm  the  nomination,  owing  to  his 
political  course  and  the  peculiar  position  of  parties  at  the  time.  There- 
upon the  president  nominated  him  as  commissioner  to  China,  and  the 
Senate  assented  to  the  appointment.  He  left  the  United  States  in  the 
summer  of  1843,  and  proceeded  to  China  by  the  Mediterranean  and 
overland  route.  In  1844,  he  negotiated  a  treaty  with  the  Chinese  goveri^ 
ment,  establishing,  for  the  first  time,  diplomatic  relations  between  the  two 


244  SKETCHES    OF   EMINENT   AMERICANS* 

countries.  He  returned  to  the  United  States  by  way  of  Mexico,  liaving 
accomplished  the  important  business  of  his  mission,  and  passed  around 
the  globe  within  the  short  period  of  a  year.  On  his  return  home,  Mr. 
Gushing  made  a  visit  to  Minnesota  Territory,  as  was  supposed  for  the 
purpose  of  taking  up  his  residence  there.  He,  however,  returned  to 
Newburyport  in  1846,  and  was  again  elected  to  represent  that  town  in 
the  legislature.  In  that  body  he  was  the  most  prominent  member  at  the 
session  of  184Y,  when  the  Mexican  war  was  at  its  height.  He  acted 
with  the  democratic  members  in  advocating  the  policy  of  that  war,  and 
for  appropriating  $20,000  for  equipping  the  Massachusetts  Regiment  of 
Volunteers,  at  the  expense  of  the  State.  When  this  proposition  was 
defeated,  Mr.  Gushing  advanced  the  money  from  his  own  means,  and  the 
regiment  was  made  ready  for  service. 

He  was  chosen  colonel  of  the  regiment,  and  accompanied  it  to  the 
Rio  Grande,  in  Mexico,  in  the  spring  of  1847,  being  attached  to  the 
army  under  command  of  General  Taylor.  Soon  after  his  arrival  in  the 
Mexican  territory,  he  was  appointed  a  Brigadier  General  in  the  United 
States  army,  and  several  regiments  of  volunteers  were  placed  under  his 
command.  Hostilities  having  ceased  on  the  northern  line.  General 
Gushing  being  anxious  for  more  active  service,  was,  at  his  own  request, 
transferred  to  the  army  of  General  Scott.  It  was  not,  however,  his 
fortune  to  be  engaged  in  any  of  the  brilliant  actions  of  the  war  ;  and  after 
various  services  as  a  commandant  at  San  Angel  and  other  places,  he 
retm-ned  home  on  the  restoration  of  peace.  In  1847,  while  he  was  in 
Mexico,  General  Gushing  was  nominated  by  the  democrats  of  Massachu- 
setts as  their  candidate  for  governor.  This  movement  was  owing  to  the 
part  he  had  taken  in  support  of  the  war,  and  was  done  without  consul- 
tation with  him.  It  doubtless  greatly  improved  his  position  with  the 
democratic  party  in  the  State  and'  nation,  and  the  increased,  though  of 
course,  unsuccessful  vote  given  to  him,  compared  with  the  democratic 
vote  of  the  previous  year,  was  flattering  to  General  Gushing,  and  his 
friends  who  had  urged  the  nomination.  In  1848,  General  Gushing  was 
a  zealous  laborer  in  behalf  of  the  election  of  General  Cass,  acting  on  all 
occasions  with  the  union  democrats  and  against  the  free  soil  party.  In 
1850,  he  was,  for  the  fifth  time,  elected  a  member  of  the  legislature  from 
Newburyport,  and  was  active  in  that  body  in  opposing  the  coalition  of 
the  democrats  with  the  free  soil  party,  which  caused  the  election  of 
Charles  Sumner  to  the  United  States  Senate.  In  1851,  the  oflBce  of 
Attorney  General  of  Massachusetts  was  ofiered  to  General  Gushing  by 
Governor  Boutwell,  but  he  declined  the  honor.  The  legislature  of  1852 
having  created  an  additional  Justice  of  the  Supreme  Court,  General 
Gushing  was  appointed  to  the  office.  It  is  admitted  that  he  performed 
the  duties  of  his  seat  on  the  bench  with  ability  and  integrity,  and  as  a 
judge,  he  acquired  an  enviable  popularity.  In  person,  General  Gushing 
is  tall  and  slender,  with  dark  complexion  and  pleasing  address.  His 
habits  are  of  the  most  active  and  industrious  character,  and  his  friends 
have  great  confidence  that  he  will  acquit  himself  in  the  duties  of  a 
cabinet  office  with  the  same  ability  that  he  has  shown  in  tlie  various  other 
public  stations  he  has  occupied. 

There  are  some  men  so  nicely  tempered  in  the  elements  of  their  being 
that,  to  use  the  language  of  natural  science,  they  seem  formed  to  bo 


CALEB    CUSHING,    OF    MASSACHUSETTS.  245 

"perfect  conductors"  of  the  better  sympathies,  at  least,  of  all  with  whom 
they  are  thrown  into  contact.  Without  any  conscious  effort  or  design 
on  their  part,  and,  indeed,  because  they  cannot  avoid  it,  they  enter  at 
once  into  the  feelings  and  appreciate  the  views  of  others  around  tiiem, 
and  find  their  hearts  beating  in  unison  with  the  circle  of  which  they 
happen,  for  the  time,  to  form  a  part.  They  are  instinctively  interested 
in  others,  and  have  the  power  of  interesting  others  in  themselves  without 
any  conscious  eftbrt  to  do  so.  A  free  interchange  of  thought  and  feeling 
between  themselves  and  others  takes  place  almost  at  the  moment  of 
contact,  and  they  have  the  happy  art  of  throwing  themselves  at  .once 
into  the  position  of  other  minds,  and  of  appreciating  such  views  of  things 
as  that  position  presents.  To  pronounce  such  men  insincere,  unstable, 
and  destitute  of  any  fixed  opinions  and  principles — to  regard  them  as 
under  the  control  of  mere  selfish  policy  and  aiming  at  universal  popular 
favor,  would  evince  an  utter  want  of  discrimination,  and  would  be  the 
grossest  misrepresentation  of  the  class  of  men  whom  we  are  describing. 

Receiving  from  the  hands  of  his  Maker  a  temperament  of  this  pecuh'ar 
character,  General  Gushing  is  happily  fitted  for  distinction  both  in  social 
and  professional  life,  and  for  the  general  offices  of  a  public  speaker  ;  and 
to  this  temperament  in  part,  must  be  attributed  his  achieved  and 
acknowledged  eminence  in  each  of  these  particulars.  It  would  not  be 
easy  for  him  to  avoid  being  the  life  of  every  social  circle  of  which  he  is 
,  a  part,  or  becoming  thoroughly  identified  for  the  time  with  his  client, 
or  engaging  the  attention  at  once  of  any  assembly  in  which  he  is  called 
to  speak.  With  a  ready  command  of  language,  for  which  he  is  indebted 
in  part  to  the  habitual  reading  of  the  best  writers  of  our  own  tongue,  and  of 
the  classics  of  other  languages,  and  a  happy  susceptibility  by  which  he 
kindles  at  once  with  the  spirit  of  his  occasion,  he  is  never  long  on  his 
feet  without  saying  what  the  occasion  demands,  and  making  himself 
understood  and  felt. 

As  to  the  peculiar  cast  of  General  Cushing's  mind  as  it  developes  itself, 
especially  in  his  forensic  eflforts,  it  is  rather  to  be  classed  with  such  as 
seize  at  once  upon  the  great  and  broad  principles  of  justice  and  common 
sense  in  the  case,  and  bring  those  principles  to  bear,  than  among  that 
class  which  spend  their  strength  in  eliminating  nice  and  subtle  distinc- 
tions, and  which  astonish  others  by  the  precision  with  which  such 
distinctions  are  drawn  out.  Though  blessed  by  a  kind  Providence  with 
the  means  of  securing  a  library  of  extensive  range  and  of  great  value, 
the  materials  which  he  draws  from  this  resource  are  never  paraded  for 
display,  nor  can  his  mind  be  characterized  as  a  depository  of  the  thoughts 
of  other  men ;  though  he  still  knows  how,  with  singular  propriety,  when 
occasion  requires,  to  apply  a  choice  saying,  either  of  the  ancients  or 
moderns,  to  a  passing  exigency. 

General  Gushing  excels  many  eminent  men  in  his  thorough  knowledge 
of  human  nature,  and  in  his  quick  and  instinctive  insight  into  the  cha- 
racter of  individual  men.  He  knows  how  to  approach  men  of  all  classes 
and  of  all  prejudices,  and  to  impress  himself  upon  them  ;  and  if  there 
be  any  weakness  especially,  either  in  the  character  or  the  argument  of 
his  adversary,  none  is  more  ready  than  he  to  lay  his  finger  upon  it,  and 
hold  it  up  in  a  clear  and  striking  fight. 

Another  characteristic  by  which  General  Gushing  is  happily  fitted  for 


246  SKETCHES    OF    EMINENT   AMERICANS. 

the  oflBce  of  an  advocate,  and  of  a  general  public  speaker,  is  a  ready 
facility  in  illustration,  and  a  command  of  those  materials  for  this  purpose 
which  are  supplied  by  the  conduct  and  sayings  of  others  with  whom  he 
has  been  brought  into  contact,  either  by  personal  acquaintance  or  by 
reading.  Throwing  himself,  in  his  illustrations  and  anecdotes,  as  his 
temperament  qualifies  him  to  do,  into  the  position  and  feelings  of  those 
of  whom  he  is  speaking,  his  narrations  are  always  vivid  and  possessed 
of  a  quickening  power ;  and  if  there  be  any  man  who  knows  how  to 
associate  ideas  in  a  manner  at  once  natural  and  yet  unusual  and  strik- 
ing, so  as  to  produce  a  pleasurable  surprise  and  wake  up  even  a  sluggish 
and  melancholy  mind,  it  is  certainly  he. 

With  no  time  or  disposition  to  enter  into  the  practical  and  laborious 
part  of  agricultural  life,  or  of  horticulture,  his  tastes  run  decidedly  in 
that  direction,  and  his  means  allow  him  to  indulge  them.  To  listen  to 
him  in  an  agricultural  meeting,  or  in  a  road-side  conversation  with  an 
agricultural  man,  one  would  easily  discover  that  he  had  much  real  sym- 
pathy with  that  class  of  men. 

Tn  his  theological  views  and  sympathies  he  is  about  equally  removed 
from  that  class  of  theologians,  who  look  for  everything  good  and  true, 
and  important,  only  in  the  past,  and  from  those  who  despise  the  ancients, 
and  seem  to  have  no  regard  but  for  things  either  new  or  future ;  and  he 
would  take  as  much  pleasure  in  discovering  and  magnifying  a  point  of 
agreement  between  himself  and  a  controversialist  of  another  sect,  as  some 
men  do  in  holding  up  and  substantiating  a  point  of  difference.  With  his 
tendencies  toward  a  medium  between  both  extremes  of  ultraism,  he  would 
be  equally  at  home  and  equally  in  place  in  leading  onward  in  some  men- 
tal movement,  or  in  holding  back  and  moderating  a  movement  as  the 
exigency  might  require. 

The  above  outline  denotes  a  life  of  varied  action  not  often  to  be  met 
with.  From  a  graduate  at  an  early  age,  we  trace  him  to  the  tutor,  the 
lawyer,  traveller,  legislator,  diplomatist,  explorer,  and  soldier,  and  in  each 
successive  sphere  of  employment  we  find  the  same  perseverance,  irre- 
pressible activity,  indomitable  energy,  and  capacity  to  meet  the  require- 
ments of  any  branch  of  the  public  service. 

Without  taking  into  the  account  his  orations  and  occasional  addresses 
before  literary  and  scientific  institutions,  his  literary,  historical,  and  poli- 
tical productions  have  been  very  numerous.  Although  he  stands  in  the 
foremost  rank  as  a  debater  and  public  speaker,  prompt,  fluent,  vigorous, 
and  self-possessed,  his  ability  in  this  respect  does  not  form  the  principal 
feature  in  his  intellectual  character.  He  possesses  an  intrepid  and  execu- 
tive genius.  There  is  work,  resolution,  and  endurance  in  him,  as  well  as 
learning,  eloquence,  and  facility  in  literary  composition. 

His  energy  and  vigor,  both  of  mind  and  body,  his  thorough  acquaint- 
ance with  all  the  higher  business  of  life,  civil  and  military  ;  his  conimand 
of  speech  and  pen,  and  the  adaptability  of  his  talents,  and  generality  of 
his  acquirements,  remind  us  of  the  men  of  the  same  traits  of  character 
and  the  same  versatility  of  life,  who  figure,  under  similar  circumstances, 
in  the  annals  of  the  ancient  republics. 


^"''^'i -by  J  CB^tti«  iro. 


^^-i^  ^  cs/<^  X?.^^^^^^^ 


OF  AKRON,  OHIO. 


LUCIUS    V.   BIERCE,    OF    AKRON,    OHIO.  247 

GEN.  LUCIUS  V.  BIERCE, 

OF    AKRON,    OHIO. 

Gen.  Lucius  V.  Bierce  was  born  at  Cornwall,  Litchfield  county, 
Connecticut,  on  the  fourth  day  of  August,  1801.  His  paternal  ancestors 
came  from  England,  and  settled  at  Halifax,  N.  S.  From  thence  they 
removed  to  Plymouth,  Mass.,  and  from  thence  to  Cornwall,  where  the 
subject  of  our  present  memoir  was  born. 

On  the  maternal  side  he  was  descended  from  the  Bells,  of  Scottish 
renown,  from  whom  he  inherited  a  sprinkling  of  the  wild  and  chivalrous 
propensity  that  marks  the  Highland  clansman. 

His  father  was  a  soldier  of  the  Revolution  during  the  continuance  of 
that  war,  having  enlisted  in  April,  1775,  and  was  discharged  in  November, 
1783.  He  belonged  to  Col.  Heman  Swift's  Regiment  of  Connecticut 
troops,  and  was  sent,  immediately  after  his  enlistment,  to  Ticouderoga, 
then  considered  on  the  confines  of  the  world.  He  was  orderly  sergeant 
of  the  company  to  which  he  belonged,  and  in  the  battles  of  Monmouth, 
White  Plains,  Fort  George,  and  in  the  dreary  winter  spent  at  Valley 
Forge,  every  officer  of  his  company  higher  than  himself  was  killed,  or 
died,  and  he  left  in  command. 

During  his  seven  years'  service  he  clothed  himself  from  home,  and 
laid  up  his  pay  and  the  amount  allowed  him  for  clothing,  so  that  at 
the  close  of  the  war  he  had  a  "  pile  "  of  worthless  continental  bills. 
The  only  use  they  ever  were  to  him  was  to  quiet  the  little  ones  ;  and  the 
whole  compensation  for  standing  target  for  British  soldiers  seven  years, 
was  given  to  the  children  to  play  with.  This  circumstance,  probably 
gave  a  tinge  to  the  mind  of  our  subject,  as  he  nas  ever  been  a  mosf ' 
bitter  enemy  to  a  paper  currency. 

During  the  session  of  the  Ohio  Legislature  of  1830-31,  numerous 
applications  were  made  for  additional  bank  charters.  Petitions  were 
sent  in,  signed  by  Democrats  as  well  as  by  their  opponents,  asking  addi- 
tional "  bank  facilities."  General  Bierce  got  up  a  remonstrance  against 
them ;  and,  unable  to  get  an  additional  name,  sent  it  in,  signed  by  him- 
self alone.  The  closing  sentence  is  characteristic  of  the  man.  Said 
he :  "  If  we  must  have  monied  incorporations  to  control  the  currency, 
and  regulate  the  exchanges  of  the  country,  let  us  have  a  United  States 
Bank.  For  my  part,  I  had  rather  be  swallowed  by  a  whale  than  nibbled 
to  death  by  minnows." 

All  else  that  remained  to  his  father  at  the  close  of  the  war  was  an 
honorable  discharge,  and  a  hundred  acres  of  land  in  Muskingum  county, 
Ohio — which  he  sold,  sixty-six  years  afterwards,  for  two  dollars  an  acre. 

The  subject  of  this  notice  received  the  common  rudiments  of  an 
English  education  at  the  school  in  his  native  town,  which  was  all  his 
father  was  able  to  bestow  on  him.  At  the  age  of  fifteen  he  lost  his 
mother,  when  his  father,  being  advanced  in  life,  concluded  to  abandon 
housekeeping.  Young  Bierce  was  thus  thrown  upon  his  own  resources, 
and  his  mind  was  soon  settled  upon  his  future  course  of  life. 

The  year  subsequent  to  his  mother's  death,  his  father  removed  from 


248  SKETCHES    OF    EMINENT    AMERICANS. 

Cornwall  to  Nelson,  Portage  county,  Ohio,  and  within  one  week  after  his 
arrival  there,  )  oiing  Bierce  announced  his  determination  of  acquiring  an 
education.  His  father  gave  his  assent,  with  the  chilling  remark — "  But 
you  must  rely  on  your  own  resources ;  I  cannot  help  you."  That  very 
day  he  left  his  paternal  roof,  and  started  for  the  Ohio  University,  at 
Athens,  where  he  arrived  on  the  3d  of  September,  1817.  To  add  to  his 
difficulties,  he  was  taken  sick  with  a  bilious  fever  immediately  on  his 
arrival,  which  confined  him  for  three  months,  most  of  the  time  dan- 
gerously ill,  and  for  a  considerable  time  without  reason.  On  his  recovery 
he  found  himself  possessed  of  the  one-fifth  of  a  quarter  of  a  dollar,  it 
being  at  the  time  of  making  "  cut  money,"  when  they  cut  five  sixpences 
from  a  quarter.  This,  with  a  father's  blessing,  was  all  that  remained  of 
his  patrimony.  But  discouragement  was  a  word  unknown  to  his  vocabu- 
lary ;  and  on  the  3d  of  December,  1817,  he  commenced  his  academic 
course,  under  the  charge  of  Rev.  Jacob  Lindley,  long  President  of  the 
Ohio  University.  On  the  11th  of  September,  1822,  he  graduated,  and 
received  the  degree  of  A.B.  He  now  determined  to  go  to  the  Southern 
States  and  see  if  he  could  not  retrieve  his  fortune,  and  replenish  his 
empty  purse.  Although  in  debt  for  his  tuition,  board,  and  clothing,  yet 
so  much  confidence  had  he  inspired  in  the  public  mind,  that  the  Hon. 
Amos  Crippen,  of  Athens,  than  whom  does  not  live  a  nobler  man,  gave 
him  an  unlimited  letter  of  credit,  on  which  to  raise  money  for  his  jour- 
ney. Having  arranged  his  business,  which  consisted  in  packing  his 
knapsack,  he  started,  on  foot,  on  the  9th  of  October,  and  on  the  3d  of 
November,  1822,  landed  in  Yorkville,  South  Carolina.  Here  he  remained 
a  few  days,  when  he  went  to  Lancaster,  and  not  finding  business  as  good 
as  he  had  hoped,  he  commenced  the  study  of  the  law  with  Robert  J. 
Fenill,  which  he  continued  until  the  4th  of  March  following,  when  he 
left  tliere  en  route  for  Alabama,  where  he  arrived  on  the  8th  of  April, 
and  commenced  study  with  Dr.  Sterne  Houghton,  in  Limestone  county. 
On  the  12th  day  of  September,  1823,  he  was  examined,  and  licensed  as 
an  attorney  and  counsellor  at  law,  by  C.  C.  Clay  and  Richard  Ellis,  of 
the  Supreme  Court  of  that  state. 

The  father  of  young  Bierce  being  far  advanced  in  life,  and  anxious  to 
have  his  son  near  him  in  his  declining  days,  decided  his  future  course. 
Prompted  by  a  sense  of  filial  duty,  he  left  the  sunny  south,  on  the  2d 
of  October,  1823,  and  on  the  19th  again  arrived  in  Athens,  having  been 
absent  a  year  and  ten  days,  during  which  time  he  had  studied  the  law, 
and  had  been  admitted  to  practice,  besides  walking  over  1800  miles, 
with  his  knapsack  on  his  back. 

On  returning  to  Ohio  he  concluded  to  settle  in  Ravenna,  Portage 
county,  and  accordingly  pursued  his  law  studies  for  one  year  longer, 
under  the  instruction  of  Hon.  J.  Slaam,  of  that  town.  In  1 824  he  was 
admitted  to  the  bar  of  Ohio,  and  in  1825  received  the  appointment  of 
district  attorney,  which  he  held  by  successive  appointments  and  elec- 
tions for  eleven  years,  when  he  resigned  the  office,  and  removed  to 
Akron,  now  the  county  seat  of  Summit.  He  now  devoted  his  whole 
time  to  the  duties  of  his  profession,  until  the  "Patriot  war"  broke  out  in 
1837.  He  then  entered  into  that  with  a  spirit  and  perseverance  that 
was  worthy  of  success.  His  time  and  money  were  freely  expended  to 
little  purpose.     McKenzie,  and   Sutherland,   and    Van  Rensselaer,   and 


LUCIUS   V.   BIERCE,    OF    AKRON,    OHIO.  249 

others  had  failed ;  the  fairest  portion  of  Canada  had  been  laid  in  ashes 
by  order  of  Sir  John  Colburn,  and  many  of  her  bravest  sons  had  perished 
on  the  scaffold.  In  this  desponding  state  of  affairs  he  was  astonished, 
on  his  reception  in  Cleveland,  on  the  18th  of  August,  1838,  at  the  oflB- 
cial  information  that  he  had  been  unanimously  elected  commander-in- 
chief  of  the  Patriot  forces  in  Canada. 

Desponding  as  were  the  prospects  of  Canadian  independence,  after  so 
many  defeats,  and  responsible  and  dangerous  as  was  the  situation,  he 
accepted  it,  and  immediately  repaired  to  his  post,  and  commenced  ar- 
ranging for  another  campaign.  He  opened  a  correspondence  with  .Colo- 
nel Von  Schultz,  a  Polander,  who  had  under  his  command  300  veteran 
Poles,  who  had  seen  service,  and  been  compelled  to  flee  their  country 
for  participating  in  the  Polish  rebellion.  These  were  ordered  to  Detroit, 
to  serve  as  a  nucleus  around  which  to  form  an  army.  General  Putnam, 
a  descendant  of  the  revolutionary  hero,  but  for  twenty  years  a  resident 
of  Canada,  was  recruiting  in  Michigan,  where  he  had  over  1200  on  his 
muster-roll ;  and  Colonel  Harnell,  a  KeiUuckian,  was  recruiting  in  Ohio, 
and  had  18Y  on  his  roll  ;  and  General  Birge  was  in  command  of  a  con- 
siderable force  in  New  York.  These  latter  were  ordered  to  Buffalo,  to 
hold  themselves  in  readiness  to  cross,  and  fortify  Fort  Erie,  as  soon  as 
they  should  learn  that  General  Bierce  had  possession  of  Fort  Maiden. 

While  things  thus  assumed  a  favorable  aspect.  General  Bierce  learned 
with  surprise  that  General  Birge  had  countermanded  his  orders  to  Colo- 
nel Von  Schultz,  and  had  planned  the  unfortunate  expedition  on  Fort 
Wellington,  at  Prescott.  An  express  was  immediately  sent  to  stop  the 
wild  scheme,  but  scarcely  had  it  left  before  another  express  arrived  say- 
ing they  should  cross  and  attack  Fort  Wellington  at  all  hazards.  Gene- 
ral Bierce  then  started,  in  person,  in  hopes  to  be  in  time  to  prevent  it, 
but  arrived  in  Buflialo  just  in  time  to  hear  that  his  worst  fears  were  real- 
ized. 

Seeing  his  hopes  all  blasted,  he  immediately  repaired  to  Swan  Creek, 
opposite  Maiden,  where  his  troops  were  then  rendezvousing,  but  instead 
of  raising  that  cheering  news  which  animates  the  soldier,  he  was  com- 
pelled to  announce  that  all  hope  of  success  was  blasted. 

Von  Schultz,  on  whose  military  experience  so  much  reliance  had  been 
placed,  had  perished  on  tlie  scaffold,  and  his  brave  Poles  were  dead  or  pri- 
soners. No  aid  could  now  be  expected  from  New  York,  and  the  Canadians 
had  lost  their  confidence.  General  Bierce  laid  the  matter  fully  before  his 
troops — told  them  there  was  no  prospect  of  success — but  if  they  decided 
to  attempt  it,  he  would  lead  them.  All  but  180  immediately  left,  and 
returned  to  their  homes.  A  council  of  war  was  held,  and,  with  one  excep- 
tion, they  unanimously  declared  they  had  rather  cross,  and  die  honora- 
bly, than  to  return  to  their  homes,  and  be  sneered  at  as  cowards.  On 
the  determination  of  this  council  of  war,  the  order  was  given,  and  at  ten 
o'clock  at  night,  on  the  3d  of  December,  1838,  this  little  band  left  De- 
troit for  Windsor,  with  little  expectation  of  ever  returning.  To  add  to  their 
misfortunes,  General  Brady,  on  the  night  before  they  left  their  camp, 
with  a  party  of  United  States  troops,  had  seized  all  the  Patriot  guns  he 
could  find,  under  the  misnamed  neutrality  law,  so  that  they  had  but  one 
hundred  and  twelve  guns  on  landing  on  the  Canada  shore. 

The  attack  commenced  about  four  o'clock  in  the  morning,  by  driving 


250  SKETCHES    OF    EMINENT    AMERICANS, 

in  the  British  outpost,  and  charging  on  their  main  position,  Tiiis,  too, 
was  soon  carried,  and  the  Patriots,  after  an  engagement  against  treble 
their  number,  for  five  hours,  the  burning  of  the  public  barracks,  and 
steamboat,  were  compelled  to  retreat  on  the  arrival  of  a  reinforcement 
from  Maiden,  with  field  artillery.  The  enemy  now  numbered  over  600 ; 
the  Patriots,  but  137  at  crossing,  now  reduced  by  killed  and  wounded 
to  about  100,  and  they  incumbered  with  26  prisoners.  As  evidence  of 
the  moral  principle  that  governed  the  Patriots,  it  need  only  be  mentioned 
that  though  in  possession  of  Windsor  several  hours,  not  a  cent  of  private 
property  was  injui-ed.  Three  large  barracks  and  a  government  steam- 
boat were  taken  and  burned,  the  latter  in  revenge  for  the  burning  of  the 
Caroline. 

As  the  Patriots  rushed  into  the  fight  the  cry  was  raised,  "Remember 
Prescott,"  and  every  man  fought  as  if  it  were  a  personal  duty  devolved 
on  him  to  avenge  Von  Schultz  and  his  companions. 

On  the  night  succeeding  the  battle  General  Bierce,  while  lying  by  his 
camp  fire,  penned  the  following  description  of  the  fight,  and  sent  it  to  a 
paper  published  in  Lockport,  New  York,  by  Dr.  McKenzie,  in  which  it 
was  soon  after  ^iublished  : — 

"  BATTLE  OF  WINDSOR. 

"  The  sun  had  set  ou  Erie's  wave, 
The  snow-clad  hills,  on  which  the  brave 
Reposed,  were  silent  as  the  grave, 

Or  soldiers'  tombless  sepulchre, 

"  No  martial  sound  nor  busy  hum, 
No  clarion  clang  nor  rattling  drum, 
Gave  signal  that  the  time  had  come 

For  daring  feats  of  chivalry, 

"The  soldier  snatched  his  hasty  meal. 
Then  fixed  his  burnished,  deadly  steel. 
Which  soon  the  Tyrants'  fate  would  seal. 

When  joined  in  war's  dread  revelry. 

"  The  Patriot  band  was  soon  arrayed, 
Their  hearts  beat  high,  but  not  dismayed, 
As  each  arm  drew  his  battle  blade. 

And  shouted,  'Death,  or  victory!' 

"  Then  foe  to  foe  in  contest  view. 
Fierce  flashed  the  fire,  the  rockets  flew, 
And  death  was  revelling  mid  the  few 

Who  bared  their  breasts  courageously. 

"  The  Patriot  cry,  of  deadly  war, 
'  Remember  Prescott,'  sounds  afar. 
And  lurid  flames,  a  crashing  jar, 

Push  on  the  dreadful  tragedy. 

"  The  warrior  falls,  in  contest  slain, 
The  wounded,  strewed  upon  the  plain, 
Make  fuel  for  the  crackling  chain 

Of  barracks  burning  rapidly. 


LUCICS    V.    BIERCE,    OF    AKRON,    OHIO.  251 

"  Now  fiercer  grew  tlie  deadly  figlit, 
Now  higher  rose  the  lurid  light, 
And  shouts,  and  groans,  as  morning  light 

Appeared,  were  mingled  variedly. 

"Ah,  dreadful  sight!     As  morn  arose. 
The  mingled  corse  of  friends  and  foes 
Bestrewed  the  ground  amid  the  snows, 

Whieh  formed  their  only  sepulchre." 

Thus  terminated,  as  General  Bierce  had  foreseen  it  would,  after  the  fatal 
expedition  to  Fort  Wellington,  the  campaign  of  1838,  and  the  Patroit 
war.  Seeing  that  further  agitation  would  result  in  nothing  but  a  waste 
of  blood,  he  returned  to  Akron,  and  resumed  his  profession. 

Soon,  however,  he  was  called  before  the  United  States  Court,  at 
Columbus,  Ohio,  to  answer  for  a  violation  of  the  Neutrality  Law  of 
1818  ;  but  with  as  pointed  a  charge  as  Judge  McLean  could  give,  so 
popular  was  the  man  and  his  cause,  that  a  grand  jury  could  not  be 
induced  to  indict  him. 

This  was  at  the  January  term,  1839,  and  so  persevering  were  the 
prosecutors  of  the  U.  S.,  that  before  Gen.  B.  left  the  city  of  Columbus,  a 
new  process  was  served  on  him  to  appear  at  the  next  term  of  said  court 
to  answer  to  the  charge.  While  attending  court  at  Columbus  he 
received  intelligence  that  his  only  child,  a  son,  was  lying  at  the  point  of 
death ;  and  on  his  return  he  found  his  fond  hopes  blasted,  and  his  only 
child  dead. 

At  the  ensuing  term  of  the  court  he  again  attended,  but  instead  of  a 
persevering  enemy  in  the  prosecution,  he  found  Mr.  Van  Buren  had 
removed  N.  H.  Svvayne,  District  Attorney,  and  appointed  in  his  placft 
Israel  Hamilton,  an  old  schoolmate  and  personal  friend  of  General  Bierce. 
Their  meeting,  under  such  circumstances,  after  a  separation  of  sixteen  years, 
may  be  imagined.  Mr.  Hamilton  at  once  dismissed  the  prosecution,  and 
GeneraL Bierce  returned  home  to  find  his  hearth  desolate.  During  his 
absence  his  wife,  overcome  by  the  intensity  of  her  feelings,  had  died  by 
a  rush  of  blood  upon  the  heart,  which  terminated  her  life  in  about  ten 
minutes  from  the  first  symptoms  of  the  attack. 

When  the  call  was  made  by  the  Governor  of  Ohio  for  volunteers  to  go 
to  Mexico,  General  Bierce  volunteered  as  a  private  soldier,  and  was  fast 
filling  up  a  company,  when  notice  was  given  that  the  quota  of  Ohio 
was  full,  and  they  were  disbanded.  Since  then  he  has  devoted  himself 
to  his  profession,  and  to  the  cause  of  popular  education.  For  several 
years  he  has  been  President  of  the  Board  of  Education  of  Akron,  and  de- 
voted his  time  and  energies  to  the  subject  of  educating  the  whole  people. 
Education  and  morality  are  the  great  pillars  of  the  state,  in  his  opinion  ; 
and  his  only  hope  of  a  continuance  of  our  government  is  in  the  general 
diffusion  of  them  among  the  masses.  In  his  own  language,  "  Education 
is  the  helm  which  guides  the  ship  of  state  ;  but  as  the  helm  in  the  hands 
of  the  inexperienced  mariner  may  guide  the  ship  into  the  whirlpools  of 
destruction,  so  educated  intellect,  guided  by  passion  instead  of  moral 
principle,  by  vicious  impulse  instead  of  well-regulated  reason,  may  guide 
its  possessor  to  a  whirlpool  more  dangerous  than  Scylla,  and  more 
destructive  than  Charybdis." 


252  SKETCHES    OF    EMINENT   AMERICANS. 

He  is  of  medium  height,  five  feet  ten  inches,  light  complexion,  light 
hair  and  eyes,  and  slightly  inclining  to  corpulency.  The  cast  of  his 
mind  is  practical,  rather  than  theoretical,  and  he  is  ever  inclined  to  look 
on  the  bright  side  of  a  subject.  His  aim  is  to  make  things  go  as  he 
wishes,  if  he  can,  but,  if  he  cannot,  to  let  them  go  as  they  please. 

In  his  law  studies  he  has  compiled  two  volumes  of  digested  cases, 
arranged  in  alphabetical  order,  but  they  will  probably  lie  in  manuscript 
during  his  life. 

Technicalities  he  abhors,  and  those  technicalities  which  serve  to  delay 
and  prevent  right  and  justice,  he  despises.  It  is  only  when  the  law  is 
the  protector  of  right,  and  the  honorable  arena  of  disciplined  mind,  that 
he  loves  it. 

For  many  years,  and,  indeed,  until  he  refused  longer  to  accept  the 
office,  he  was  Mayor  of  Akron  ;  but  having  acquired  a  competency,  with 
no  desire  for  wealth,  he  is  striving  to  withdraw  from  active  life,  and,  in 
retirement,  to  enjoy  that  quietude  he  has  so  long  denied  to  himself. 

He  has  just  completed,  and  has  now  in  press,  "A  History  of  the 
Western  Reserve."  He  is  a  regular  contributor  to  the  Ohio  Historical 
and  Philosphical  Society,  and  the  Minnesota  Historical  Society,  of  both  of 
which  he  has  been  elected  a  member. 


''^•»^roiT,j:,CSv.tb: 


^^^  S^ ^^c/^^tJ(r?^ 


oruonjiis  covnty.n-j. 


IBn^myodf  for  BiographicaL  Sketches  of  Sminenc^usricans 


CORNELIUS   S.    DICRERSON,    OF    NEW   JERSEV.  253 

CORNELIUS    S.    DICKERSON, 

OF  NEW  JERSEY. 

The  subject  of  the  present  sketch  would  not  permit  it  to  appear  among 
the  memoirs  of  those  who  have  attained  to  high  dignities,  fame,  and 
renown,  did  he  think  that  for  a  moment  it  could  be  supposed  that  he 
claimed  equal  honor  or  fellowship  with  them.  He  only  permits,  this 
record  of  his  trials,  struggles,  and  success  to  appear,  that  it  may  serve  to 
encourage  youth,  and  to  show  how  any  poor  boy,  by  perseverance, 
energy,  and  strict  integrity,  can,  in  a  country  favored  like  ours,  attain  to 
competence,  and,  if  not  to  greatness,  at  least  to  an  honorable  old  age. 

Cornelius  S.  Dickerson  was  born  near  Suckasunny  Plains,  Morris 
county,  New  Jersey,  on  the  Vth  of  April,  a.d.  1792.  His  father  moved 
to  Hoboken  in  1802,  where  he  resided  ten  years,  during  which  time  he 
performed  the  duties  of  a  Justice  of  the  Peace,  and  represented  that 
town  in  the  State  Legislature. 

C.  S.  Dickerson's  first  experience  in  active  life  was  as  a  soldier ;  he 
entered  the  militia  as  a  substitute,  and  served  his  time  in  the  capacity 
of  orderly  sergeant  in  Captain  Demarest's  company,  in  the  camp  at  the 
arsenal  on  Bergen  Hill,  under  the  command  of  Colonel  Joseph  Jackson, 
of  Rockaway.  After  his  discharge,  he  lived  for  a  short  time  with  Henry 
P.  Russell,  Esq.,  Editor  of  the  Morristown  Herald,  and  took  charge  of 
the  post  office.  After  leaving  Mr.  Russell  he  lived  with  the  Hon. 
Mahlon  Dickerson,  superintending  his  mining  operations,  and  tending  his 
store,  while  he  was  absent  in  the  exercise  of  his  duties  as  circuit  judge ; 
from  thence  he  removed  to  Walpack,  on  the  Delaware  river,  five  miles 
below  Shopanack,  to  tend  store  for  his  uncle  Jacob,  who,  having  been  a 
lieutenant  in  the  army,  engaged  in  the  peaceful  occupation  of  store- 
keeping,  first  at  Walpack,  afterwards  at  Dingman's  Choice.  On  leaving 
his  uncle,  Cornelius  entered  the  academy  at  Walpack,  as  teacher,  and 
labored  in  this  vocation  about  two  years.  In  1818  he  married  Jerusha 
Cortright,  an  adopted  daughter  of  Daniel  W.  Dingman,  Esq.  Shortly 
after  this  event  he  joined  the  Order  of  Free  and  Accepted  Masons.  He 
has  always  held  this  order  in  the  highest  respect  and  esteem,  and  he  still 
adheres  to  their  rules  and  teachings  with  the  greatest  fidelity. 

Being  now  desirous  of  improving  his  condition,  Dickerson  engaged  in 
the  lumber  business,  which  he  abandoned  after  a  trial  of  several  years' 
duration.  He  then  turned  landlord,  and  kept  the  tavein  at  Dingman's 
Choice  a  year  or  two.  Succeeding  no  better,  he  moved  to  Suckasunny 
Plains,  and  farmed  land  belonging  to  his  grandfather,  Cornelius  Slaight, 
for  a  few  years.  Not  satisfied  with  this,  he  rented  the  tavern  on  the 
Plains,  and  kept  it  a  short  time.  Still  ambitious  to  improve  his  circum- 
stances, he  rented  a  new  hotel  at  the  foot  of  Market  Street,  Newark,  and 
moved  into  it  in  the  spring  of  1832.  Mr.  Dickerson  was  landlord  of  the 
Market  Street  Hotel  about  four  years.  Having  disposed  of  his  business, 
he  contracted  for  and  constructed  a  part  of  the  Somerville  water  power. 

When  the  city  of  Newark  was  incorporated,  he  was  appointed  street 
commissioner.     He  next  turned  his  attention  to  the  iron  business,  and,  in 


254  SKETCHES    OF    EMINENT   AMERICANS. 

1840,  bought  one  thousand  acres  of  mine  land  near  Dover,  now  known 
as  the  Irondale  Mines.  Though  an  abundance  of  ore  was  to  be  found  in 
these  mines,  yet,  on  account  of  the  depressed  state  of  the  trade,  they 
were  not  profitable.  After  retaining  them  about  six  years,  Mr.  Dickerson 
sold  them  to  the  Sussex  Iron  Company  for  about  one-tenth  of  their 
present  value.  Soon  after  this  sale,  he  engaged  with  his  brother-in-law, 
Mr.  James  C.  Oliver,  in  the  business  of  mining,  transporting,  and  selling 
coal.  The  business  was  not  successful.  In  a  short  time  Mr.  Oliver 
failed,  leaving  Mr.  Dickerson  responsible  for  the  payment  of  160,000,  the 
amount  of  the  firm  debts,  with  security  on  the  mine  lands.  Having,  by 
great  exertions,  freed  himself  from  these  difficulties,  and  satisfied  all  his 
creditors'  demands  to  the  last  penny,  he  purchased  a  farm  and  retired 
from  active  business. 

In  1851,  he  was  elected  a  member  of  the  State  Legislature  from  Morris 
county.  New  Jersey,  and  he  still  (1853)  retains  a  seat  in  that  body. 

The  well-known  industry,  perseverance,  and  ability  of  Mr.  Dickerson 
'in  the  management  of  public  works,  induced  the  directors  of  the  Morris 
and  Essex  Railroad  Company  to  engage  him  to  superintend  the  con- 
struction of  parts  of  their  road ;  and,  at  present,,  he  is  to  be  found  actively 
engaged  in  that  useful  enterprise,  exerting  himself  to  benefit  both  the 
present  and  future  generations. 

Mr.  Dickerson  has  never  failed  in  business,  but  has  always  paid  his 
debts,  and  has  maintained  the  reputation  of  being  a  perfectly  honorable 
and  upright  man.  He  has  accumulated  a  handsome  competency,  but 
enjoys  himself  more  in  the  practice  of  economy,  than  in  extravagant 
display. 


(?i^W/.7^/:/ /,^S'^ 


FREDERICK    G.    PETERS,  OF    NELSON    COUNTY,    VA.  255 

FREDERICK    G.    PETEHS, 

OF    NELSON    COrNTY,    VIRGINIA. 

The  subject  of  this  memoir,  Dr.  Fjederick  G.  Peters,  was  born  in  that 
part  of  Amherst  county  now  comprising  the  county  of  Nelson,  in  the 
year  1802,  in  the  state  of  Virginia.  His  father,  Elisha  Peters,  who 
afterwards  removed  to  the  county  of  Bedford,  was  of  EngHsh  descent, 
and  commenced  Hfe  without  patrimony,  the  sole  arbiter  of  his  own  future 
destiny,  and  who  by  his  energy  of  character,  perseverance  in  every  pur- 
suit in  which  he  was  engaged,  doing  and  performing  everything  his 
hands  found  to  do,  has,  besides  raising  and  educating  a  numerous  family, 
amassed  a  large  estate,  principally  by  the  cultivation  of  the  soil,  to  which 
he  has  devoted  his  life.  He  was  the  husband  of  a  first  and  second  wife, 
by  whom  he  had  seventeen  children,  and  there  are  now  living  of  them 
eleven  ;  he  has  attained  the  age  of  eighty  years,  and  is  still  blessed  with 
health  and  a  strong  constitution,  and  attends  to  all  his  secular  concerns. 

Dr.  Frederick  G.  Peters  is  the  second  son  of  the  first  marriage,  and  no 
doubt  owes  much  of  his  success  to  the  indomitable  industry,  perseve- 
rance, and  habits  of  his  father,  who  was  all  his  life,  and  is  at  the  present 
time,  constantly  employed  in  the  performance  of  duties  to  himself,  his 
family,  and  dependants.  Frederick  was  raised  a  stranger  to  idleness  and 
dissipation  ;  and  when  not  at  school  or  indisposed  had  duties  to  perform, 
which  he  did  with  alacrity  and  delight.  At  the  age  of  eighteen  years, 
he  accepted  an  invitation  from  his  elder  brother,  Captain  Wilson  Peters, 
to  live  with  him  in  a  retail  store  at  Lovingston,  the  seat  of  justice  of 
Nelson  county,  where  he  learned  book-keeping,  and  something  of  the 
manners  and  customs  of  the  world.  In  this  situation  his  urbane  man- 
ners, good-humor,  and  strict  fidelity  gained  him  many  and  enduring 
friends  ;  none  of  whom  (it  is  believed)  ever  lost  their  high  esteem  for 
him  as  a  man  and  as  a  friend.  He  remained  in  that  business  about  four 
years,  and  left  in  consequence  of  impaired  health ;  he  then  visited  the 
mineral  springs  of  Virginia,  where,  by  recreation  and  the  use  of  the  wa- 
ters, his  health  became  repaired  and  his  constitution  renovated. 

On  returning,  by  the  advice  of  numerous  friends,  he  commenced  the 
study  of  medicine,  under  Dr.  Arthur  Hopkins,  at  Lovingston,  where,  by 
application  to  his  studies,  he  soon  became  prepared  to  attend  the  Uni- 
versity of  Pennsylvania.  Nor  did  he  lose  sight  of  friendship  amid  the 
assiduous  study  he  performed ;  he  found  time,  at  convenient  seasons,  to 
enjoy  the  delights  and  friendships  of  his  late  associates,  who  were  always 
delighted  with  his  presence. 

Having  gone  through  the  incipient  stages  of  his  studies  with  Dr. 
Hopkins,  he  repaired  to  Philadelphia,  and  attended  the  lectures  at  the 
University  during  the  course  of  1824  and  1825,  and  intended  to  return  , 
there  the  following  year,  but  protracted  illness  prevented. 

In  the  year  1826  Dr.  Peters  located  as  a  practising  physician  at  his 
father's  house,  in  the  county  of  Bedford,  where  he  met  with  considerable 
success.  Here  he  became  acquainted  with  Miss  Read,  a  daughter  of  Dr. 
John  T.  W.  Read,  to  whom  he  was  married  in  the  year  1827,  and  each 


256  SKETCHES    OF   EMINENT    AMERICANS. 

ever  since  has  enjoyed  the  confidence  and  esteem  of  the  other,  to  the  full- 
est extent,  without  alloy. 

In  the  year  1828,  Dr.  Peters  returned  to  his  native  county  (Nelson), 
and  commenced  farming,  and,  at  the  solicitation  of  friends,  also  the  prac- 
tice of  medicine ;  and,  here  his  abilities  were  made  manifest,  as  he  was 
eminently  successful  in  both  pursuits,  until  his  health  became  bad  and  he 
too  enfeebled  to  attend  to  such  business.  In  this  situation  he  saw  the  pro- 
priety of  changing  his  pursuits,  and  to  select  such  as  he  could  perform 
with  more  ease  and  readiness.  He  selected  merchandising  and  dealing 
ii.  produce,  and  therefore  removed  to  the  village  of  New  Market,  at  the 
junction  of  Tye  with  James  River,  where  he  commenced  business,  and 
still  remains  in  those  pursuits,  having  met  with  gTcat  encouragement  and 
success,  winning  and  retaining  the  confidence  and  respect  of  the  surround- 
ing country,  and  having  amassed  a  handsome  estate.  He  was,  under  the 
old  constitution  of  the  state,  appointed  a  justice  of  the  peace,  and  per- 
formed his  duties  as  such  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  people,  who,  under  the 
new  constitution,  have  again  elected  him  to  that  office.  These  duties 
he  has  performed,  because  he  believes  it  a  duty  to  bear  a  portion  of  the 
burdens  of  society.  He  has  often  been  solicited  to  become  a  candidate 
for  a  seat  in  the  state  Legislature,  but  he  has,  as  yet,  always  declined, 
on  the  ground  that  he  was  unwilling  to  mingle  in  political  strife,  and 
because  he  was  devoted  to  his  business,  and  had  no  disposition  for  such 
distinctions. 

Dr.  Peters,  in  stature,  is  six  feet  high,  form  rather  slender,  of  delicate 
complexion,  pleasing  of  manner,  never  giving  offence,  easily  approached, 
benevolent  of  disposition,  a  stranger  to  strife  and  anger,  prudent  yet  de- 
cided in  conversation,  never  thrown  into  confusion,  of  industrious  and  per- 
severing habits.  He  is  good,  humane,  and  enjoys  the  company  of  friends 
and  neighbors,  given  to  hospitality,  strict  to  the  truth,  never  deceivHlng, 
always  ready  to  do  justice,  and  to  exact  justice  where  it  can  be  done 
without  oppression  ;  having  been  taught,  by  Divine  inspiration,  to  render 
unto  Csesar  the  things  which  are  Ciesar's,  and  unto  God  the  things  which 
are  God's.  His  eminent  success  in  all  his  undertakings  may  be  traced  to 
his  good  sense,  his  sense  of  justice,  urbanity  of  manner,  and  attention  to 
whatever  he  has  undertaken.  The  writer  of  this  is  of  no  kindred  to  Doc- 
tor Peters ;  he  has  known  him  long,  and  known  him  well,  and  can  truly 
say,  the  above  sketch  is  but  a  feeble  narrative  of  the  truth. 


4 


REV.    CHARLES    BROOKS,    OF    MASSACHUSETTS.  257 

REV.     CHARLES     BROOKS, 

BOSTON,   MASSACHUSETTS. 

Some  men  are  fountains,  some  only  reservoirs.  Themistocles  said,  "  I 
cannot  fiddle  nor  philosopliize ;  but  I  know  how  to  make  a  great  city  out 
of  a  small  one."  To  suggest  new  forces  and  demonstrate  improvements, 
and  yet  not  live  to  see  all  the  results,  is  a  common  lot  with  the  benefactors 
of  mankind.  Who  can  calculate  the  orbit  of  a  word  ?  Never  can  society 
know  the  amount  of  good  which  has  flowed  from  the  practical  suggestions 
of  a  fertile  and  truthful  mind. 

Out  of  original  documents,  most  of  which  are  printed,  we  have  selected 
the  facts  of  this  biography ;  and  from  these  facts  we  have  drawn  our  own 
conclusions. 

The  Reverend  Charles  Brooks,  descended  from  two  of  the  oldest  fami- 
lies in  New  England,  was  born  in  Medford,  Massachusetts,  October  30th, 
1795.  Receiving  from  birth  what  is  better  than  wealth,  he  was  taught  by 
an  active  father  that  he  must  get  his  own  living,  and  by  a  pious  mother  that 
there  could  be  no  success  but  by  virtue.  Obliged  to  work,  he  came  to 
love  it ;  and  work  has  done  as  much  for  him  as  he  for  it.  He  deems  it 
the  most  culpable  death  to  have  life  and  not  to  use  it.  He  has  always 
pitied  those  who  were  not  obliged  to  labor  with  head  or  hand;  because 
they  never  come  to  that  true  manly  strength,  which  is  got  only  by  strug- 
gling. Young  Brooks  roughed  it  thiough  the  public  school,  taking  his 
share  of  the  bruises  and  prizes ;  and  in  the  academy  took  the  highest 
medal  for  excellence  in  Mathematics.  Seldom  has  a  boy  fewer  external 
helps.  While  others  crossed  the  brook  on  stilts,  he  always  had  to  wade 
it.  Very  poorly  fitted  for  college,  he  entered  Harvard  University  in  1812, 
with  seventy-six  others,  and  found  himself  at  the  bottom  of  his  class. 
Dreary  prospect  for  a  college  life !  He  had  now  the  sorrowful  task  of 
measuring  himself  by  himself;  and  his  only  aim  was,  to  conquer  his  own 
condition.  His  great  rival,  therefore,  was  himself.  Under  such  a  rough 
enterprise,  he  felt  that  all  "  college  honors "  were  out  of  the  question. 
But,  he  had  read  in  Virgil,  "  They  can  conquer  who  believe  they  can  ;  " 
and  he  was  resolved  not  to  be  confounded  with  those  who  can  do  nothing. 
His  common  saying  has  been,  "Idleness  is  the  Dead  sea  of  the  soul."  He. 
passed  through  the  four  years  of  college  without  a  single  reprimand,  and 
received  from  the  Government  four  public  parts" — one  in  his  junior  year, 
one  in  his  senior  year,  a  Latin  Poem  when  he  graduated  in  1816,  and  the 
Latin  Valedictory  Oration  when  he  took  his  second  degi'ee  in  1819.  He 
was  made  an  ofiicer  of  college  soon  after  his  graduation,  and  ever  received 
the  particular  patronage  of  President  Kirkland,  whose  head  was  a  foun- 
tain of  genius  and  wisdom,  whose  heart  was  a  reservoir  of  piety  and  bene- 
volence. 

The  choice  of  a  profession  was  no  embarrassing  problem  to  Mr.  Brooks. 
His  sentiments  and  taste  led  him  to  the  Episcopal  Church,  and  he  offi- 
ciated as  reader  in  it  for  some  time.  One  Sunday  morning,  as  he  wa.-* 
reading  in  public  the  commencement  of  the  Litany,  the  query  flashed 
across  his  mind, — Is  this  scriptural?    On  the  next  day  he  gave  notice  to 

VOL.  HI.  17 


258  SKETCHES    OF    EMINENT    AMERICANS, 

the  wardens  that  he  should  read  no  more  at  present.  They  were  greatly 
surprised.  He  assured  them  that  his  reasons  were  wholly  personal  to 
himself,  and  therefore  refused  to  disclose  them.  He  still  kept  silent ;  but 
he  betook  himself  for  one  year  to  his  Greek  Testament  and  Lexicon,  and 
the  unexpected  result  was,  that  he  embraced  the  Unitarian  form  of  Chris- 
tianity, and  has  since  belonged  to  the  most  orthodox  wing  of  that  body. 
Believing  that  this  earth  is  our  school-house,  Christ  our  Teacher,  and  the 
Bible  our  class-book ;  and  that  the  true  church  begins  with  the  highest 
archangel  and  embraces  all  God's  moral  creatures,  through  all  worlds  and 
all  ages,  who  love  him  with  all  their  soul  and  love  their  neighbor  as  them- 
selves— believing  this,  he  has  the  most  abounding  charity  for  all  Christian 
sects;  and  very  slight  attachment  to  that  armed  theology  which  bristles 
all  over  with  the  thorns  of  logic.  He  thinks  tliat  mere  intellectual  duela 
are  generally  fatal  to  both  combatants. 

He  was  a  candidate  for  settlement  only  in  one  place,  though  invited  to 
be  a  candidate  in  several.  He  avowed,  from  the  first,  that  a  candidate 
who  permitted  a  parish  to  give  him  a  call,  when  he  had  previously  decided 
not  to  accept  it,  placed  himself  lower  than  the  female  flirt  who  encourages 
a  suitor  to  otier  his  hand  when  she  has  already  determined  to  reject  it. 
The  Third  Congregational  Society  in  Hingham,  Massachusetts,  gave  him 
an  unanimous  invitation  to  become  their  minister,  on  a  salary  of  5^1000; 
and  he  was  ordained  over  that  intelligent  and  united  people  January  l7th, 
1821.  The  spring  following  he  organized  a  Sabbath  School,  and  alone 
conducted  all  the  instruction.  The  next  year  he  divided  the  school  into 
classes,  and  gave  a  teacher  to  each  six  pupils;  and  then  he  commenced 
a  course  of  explanatory  lectures  to  the  school,  which  continued  through 
seventeen  years  with  singular  success.  His  maxim  was,  "  Take  good  care 
of  the  young  trees  if  you  want  the  best  orchards."  About  the  same  time 
he  started  a  Parish  Reading  Society,  which  embraced  all  who  wished  to 
attend,  and  which  met  from  house  to  house  each  Monday  evening.  Alli- 
son on  Taste,  Stewart  and  Brown's  Philosophy,  the  Edinburgh  Review, 
and  such  books,  were  read,  and  the  topics  discussed.  These  discussions 
often  furnished  him  with  themes  for  the  next  Sunday's  sermon.  The 
society  was  kept  active  while  Mr.  Brooks  was  the  minister.  A  library 
was  connected  with  it,  and  he  purchased  the  books  ;  and  his  plan  was,  not 
to  expend  this  public  money  in  buying  any  book  which  it  was  likely  that 
any  private  family  would  purchase.  This  rule  enabled  him  to  fill  the 
shelves  with  standard  authors. 

During  the  first  year  of  his  ministry  he  wrote  a  Family  Prayer  Book, 
intended  for  his  people.  "Within  a  short  time  it  came  to  a  second  edition ; 
and  so  rapid  was  its  sale  that,  in  1833,  he  re-wrote  the  whole,  added  one 
hundred  and  fifty  pages,  and  published  the  first  stereotyped  edition.  Some 
■of  the  editions  were  four  thousand  copies  ;  and  this  year  (1853)  the  seven- 
teenth edition  has  been  published.  It  has  368  pages.  Who  but  the 
Omniscient  can  tell  how  much  good  these  volumes  have  done  ?  The  day 
of  judgment  may  declare  it. 

The  Peace  Cause  had  been  started  by  the  Apostolic  Worcester.  Mr. 
Brooks  was  strongly  drawn  towards  it ;  and,  after  several  special  visits 
to  the  Great  Pacificator,  he  became  enamored  of  a  man  who  seemed  to 
be  like  Abraham  in  faith,  like  Paul  in  labors,  and  like  John  in  love.  A 
county  Peace  Society  was  proposed  by  Mr.  Brooks,  and  through  his  un- 


REV.    CHARLES    BROOKS,    OF    MASSACHUSETTS.  2.i;9 

tiring  efforts  it  was  established ;  he  acting  as  its  Secretary.  Of  the 
Peace  Society  in  Ilingham  he  was  the  President,  and  he  there  some- 
times found  himself  between  an  acid  and  an  alkali.  Twice  he  was 
able  to  pour  the  oil  of  Christian  peace  on  the  rising  waves  of  human 
passion.  At  a  union  celebration  of  the  4th  July,  by  parties  heretofore 
separated,  he  gave  this  toast : 

"  Partv  Sperit. — Hush  !  my  dear !  lie  still  and  slumber !  " 

He  ever  held  himself  ready  to  meet  conventions,  deliver  addresses,  and 
circulate  books,  and  hundreds  of  miles  did  he  ride  for  this  purpose. 
His  first  address  was  in  1821,  and  is  printed.  In  a  letter  of  Dr.  Wor- 
cester to  him  in  1853,  there  are  these  words — "  When  I  am  gone  I  shall 
look  to  Mr.  William  Ladd,  the  Rev.  Samuel  J.  May,  and  yourself,  to 
carry  on  this  great  Christian  work."  He  has  been  a  constant  con- 
tributor to  the  peace  publications  of  the  day,  and  to  the  funds  of  the 
American  Peace  Society.  In  1835,  he  published  his  views  of  war  and 
the  means  of  preventing  it.  His  statement  was  this — "Two  men  quar- 
rel— does  society  allow  them  to  settle  it  by  battle  ?  No.  A  reference, 
a  Justice's  Court  may  settle  it.  If  those  fail,  does  society  then  allow 
them  to  settle  it  by  personal  conflict  ?  No.  The  Court  of  Common 
Pleas  is  called  upon  to  settle  it.  If  this  fails,  are  the  parties  allowed  to 
appeal  from  the  decision  of  the  Court  to  brute  force  ?  No.  The 
Supreme  Judicial,  Court  is  called  in,  and  their  decision  is  final.  This 
process  seems  that  of  justice,  common  sense,  and  humanity.  If  the  par- 
ties, after  this  decision,  should  resort  to  angry  battle  or  homicidal  force, 
all  men  would  cry  out  against  them  as  enemies  of  public  order,  personal 
safety,  and  social  happiness.  Thus  society,  by  instituting  courts  of  law, 
prevents  bloodshed  and  barbarism.  If  Hingham  and  Cohosset  have  a 
difference,  does  the  commonwealth  j-yermit  them  to  order  out  their  in- 
fantry and  attack  each  other?  No.  The  courts  of  law  alone  can  adjust 
the  claims.  If  Massachusetts  has  a  quarrel  with  Connecticut,  does  the 
government  of  the  United  States  allow  each  of  them  to  raise  an  army 
and  meet  each  other  in  deadly  fight  ?  No.  The  Supreme  Court  of  the 
United  States  is  called  upon  to  hear  the  whole  story  from  both  sides, 
and  then  to  say  where  equity  is.  By  this  process  all  the  facts  will  be 
elicited  and  weighed  by  Avise  and  impartial  judges,  and  thus  the  nearest 
approach  to  full  justice  will  be  obtained,  which  can  be  obtained  on 
earth.  Now  take  this  same  wise,  just,  and  Christian  principle,  and  apply 
it  to  disputes  between  different  Christian  nations.  Let  all  the  govern- 
ments of  Christendom  unite  to  frame  a  code  of  international  law  ;  and 
then  let  a  high  Court  of  Nations  be  instituted  before  whom  anv  two  na- 
tions may  plead  their  cause,  and  to  whose  decision  they  shall  submit. 
This  would  for  ever  prevent  all  resort  to  brute  force  and  forbidden  war. 
It  is  time  that  this  certainty  of  justice  was  substituted  for  the  uncertainty 
of  battle.  If  every  ruler  in  Christendom  understood  the  divine  authority 
of  Christ  and  felt  his  heavenly  spirit,  no  one  could  object  to  the  plan  here 
proposed  ;  on  one  could  refuse  to  substitute  peaceful  arbitration  for 
heathenish  slaughter.  Bonaparte  said, — '  War  is  hell.'  It  surely  is  a 
suspension  of  the  laws  of  God."  Mr.  Brooks  has  occupied  for  many  years 
the  place  of  Chairman  of  the  Executive  Committee  of  the  American 


200  SKETCHES    OF    EMINENT    AMERICANS. 

Peace  Society,  and  has  twice  been  chosen  by  that  society  to  leprcsout 
them  at  the  late  "  World's  Peace  Congresses  "  in  Europe. 

In  1825,  when  at  Washington,  he  was  invited  to  deliver  an  address 
before  the  American  Colonization  Society.  This-  led  him  to  study 
that  great  movement ;  and  the  consequence  was,  a  hearty  adoption  of 
that  Christian  enterprise  as  the  most  feasible  plan  for  Christianizing 
Africa,  for  destroying  the  slave  trade,  and  for  restoring  the  black  man 
to  his  native  skies  and  his  inalienable  rights.  He  has  spared  neither 
time  nor  money  in  advocating  this  cause  ;  and  believing  that  Liberia 
will  be  the  Plymouth  of  Africa,  he  lives  to  see  the  early  enemies  of  colo- 
nization converted  to  friends,  and  even  politicians  looking  at  it  with  cal- 
culating eyes.  He  has  been  a  member  of  the  Society  for  a  quarter  of  a 
century  ;  and  as  a  Vice-President,  works  for  it  now  with  unabated  zeal. 

In  1827,  Mr.  Brooks  married  Miss  Cecilia  Williams,  daughter  of  Roger 
Wolcott  Williams,  of  Connecticut,  a  lady  who  proved  to  be  a  guide,  phi- 
losopher, and  friend.  Her  death,  in  1837,  entirely  prostrated  him.  She 
left  a  daughter  and  a  son. 

In  1828,  he  was  applied  to,  by  a  society  of  gentlemen  in  Boston,  to  pre- 
pare a  book  that  might  be  used  in  families,  in  connexion  with  his  Prayer 
Book.  He  undertook  it,  and  within  a  year  furnished  a  royal  octavo 
volume,  divided  into  365  sections,  and  called  it  A  Daily  Monitor.  It  was 
intended  to  meet  the  every  day  wants  and  hopes  of  life,  to  impart  heat 
rather  than  light,  and  thus  to  make  every  parent  a  priest,  and  every  family 
a  church. 

The  venerable  John  Adams,  who  always  called  him  "  Cousin,"  and  to 
whom  he  used  to  read,  offered  liim  the  use  of  all  liis  library,  and  his  best 
counsel.  He  received  from  this  true  patriot,  and  afterwards  from  his 
son  John  Quincy,  many  fruitful  suggestions. 

In  1824,  when  the  Hon.  John  Quincy  Adams  was  candidate  for  the 
Presidency,  the  people  of  his  native  town  celebrated  the  4th  of  July  with 
great  pomp.  The  venerable  John  Adams  was  present,  and  dined  with  the 
vast  assembly.  Mr.  Brooks  happened  to  be  seated  on  the  right  hand  of 
the  old  patriot ;  and  when  called  upon  to  give  a  toast,  gave  the  following : 
"  The  town  of  Quincy.  It  has  been  said  that  the  world  cannot  bear  two 
.suns,  nor  Rome  two  Cresars  ;  but  that  does  not  prove  that  Quincy  cannot 
bear  two  Presidents."  The  old  gentleman  seemed  peculiarly  pleased  with 
the  toast,  and  said  to  Mr.  Brooks — "  That  toast  will  fly  fi'om  the  White 
Hills  to  Florida  and  the  Pacific." 

The  Old  Colony,  in  Plymouth  County,  Massachusetts,  started  the  great 
Temperance  movement.  Among  its  earliest  leaders  was  Mr.  Brooks.  He 
was  the  first  man  to  propose  that  the  4th  of  July  should  be  used  as  a  day 
for  temperance  celebrations  ;  and  he  delivered  the  first  temperance  oration 
on  that  day.  Conventions  were  frequently  assembled  in  the  Old  Colony. 
The  numbers  were  few  ;  the  friends  fewer  ;  the  opponents  were  multitu- 
dinous. The  advocates  of  reform  stood  erect  and  determined,  believing 
that  difficulties  make  room  as  soon  as  resolution  approaches.  On  on© 
occasion,  when  a  fierce  debate  threatened  violence,  one  speaker  told  Mr. 
Brooks,  that  "if  he  was  caught  out  after  dark  he  would  be  tarred  and 
f'athered."  He  instantly  replied — "Mr.  Chairman!  I  do  not  covet  th« 
dignity  of  danger ;  but,  kno\v  all  men  by  thes(i  presents,  that  to-morrow 
evening,  at  8  o'clock,  I  will  walk  one  mile  out  of  town  on  such  a  road,  and 


REV.    CHARLES    BROOKS,    OF    MASSACHUSETTS.  261 

return  by  the  same  way."  He  did  so  ;  and  returned,  looking  no  more  like 
a  bird  than  when  he  went  out.  Some  one  asked  him,  "  How  dare  you  to 
expose  yourseh'  thus  ?"  "  Because,"  said  he,  "  I  knew  that  a  bad  cause 
makes  men  cowards." 

In  November,  1833,  he  sailed  for  Europe  to  restore  his  strength,  which 
had  become  exhausted  by  over-work.  Visiting  England,  Scotland,  Ireland, 
France,  Switzerland,  and  Italy,  he  spent  ten  months  in  lionizing,  and  pub- 
lished anonymously  his  "  Leaves  from  a  Journal,"  in  two  of  our  popular 
papers.  He  has  often  been  asked  to  publish  a  book  of  travels,  but  he  re- 
fuses, with  this  reply — "He  who  j)ublishes  his  European  tour  and  does  not 
disgrace  himself,  is  entitled  to  immortal  honor."  His  impression  of  the 
politics  of  Europe,  after  two  visits  there,  is,  "  that  the  wedge  and  screw 
system  is  the  only  safety  of  monarchs ;  and  that  despotism  has  become 
negotiable.  On  this  account,  therefore,  the  people  begin  to  say,  that 
monarchy  has  had  its  time,  that  it  has  now  lost  its  savor,  and  that  hence- 
forth it  will  be  good  for  nothing  but  to  be  cast  out  and  trodden  under  foot 
of  men.  The  smallest  thing  in  Europe  may  determine  the  next  political 
transit.  Liberty  has  marched  into  the  open  arena;  the  kings  cry 
'  Crucify,'  the  people  shout  '  Hosanua.' " 

Mr.  Brooks  was  very  fortunate  in  making  the  acquaintance  of  some  dis- 
tinguished men  and  women  in  Europe  ;  such  as  Rogers,  Campbell,  Woi'ds- 
wortli.  Lord  Jeffrey,  Cousin,  Arago,  Schlegel,  Tiedemann,  Hannemann,  Mrs. 
Hemaus,  Miss  Aiken,  Mrs.  Fry,  Miss  Martineau,  and  others  of  less  note. 
While  at  Paris,  in  Ma}^,  1834,  General  Lafayette  died.  The  Americans 
took  such  steps  to  show  him  honor  as  their  deep  gratitude  suggested  ;  and 
Mr.  Brooks  was  chosen  by  them  to  deliver  a  eulogy  in  Paris.  He  accepted; 
and  was  going  to  La  Grange,  by  invitation,  to  w^nte  it,  when  he  received 
from  the  King  a  request  that  such  a  meeting  and  such  a  service  might  not 
be  had.  As  a  king's  request  is  a  king's  command,  the  Americans  could 
only  visit  the  grave  of  their  country's  benefactor,  and  weep  there. 

Fired  with  enthusiasm  for  many  features  of  the  Prussian  system  of 
public  instruction,  Mr.  B.  commenced,  in  1834,  to  speak  and  write  about 
improvements  in  the  cominon  public  schools  of  Xew  England.  By  con- 
trast he  saw  their  deficiencies,  and  resolved  to  begin  a  school  revival,  which 
should  end  in  a  thorough  reformation.  He  did  not  at  fii'st  apprehend  the 
dangers  of  his  enterprise  ;  for  he  soon  found  himself  like  the  young  Green- 
lander  who  launches  his  skiff  to  encounter  the  great  leviathan.  He  learned 
to  make  haste  slowly.  He  knew  not  what  others  had  done,  and  was  full  of 
fears  and  doubts  about  the  best  modes  of  procedure.  He  was  aware  that 
no  skill  in  the  builder  can  compensate  for  unsoundness  in  the  material ; 
and  therefore  he  was  nervously  anxious  to  gather  school  statistics.  By 
correspondence  with  Mr.  Cousin,  the  philosopher  of  Paris,  by  consultation 
with  experienced  educators,  and  by  patient  reflection  upon  the  system  of 
education  in  Holland,  Prussia,  and  France,  he  came  to  this  important  con- 
clusion— "  As  IS  THE  TEACHER  SO  IS  THE  SCHOOL."  This  iiiaxim  he  has 
made  familiar  to  all  our  school  literature.  From  this  central  truth  he 
argued  that  it  was  clear,  that  the  elevation  of  the  teacher  was  the  only  way 
of  elevating  the  schools.  He  therefore  concentrated  all  his  powers  on  the 
attempt  to  establish  Normal  Schools.  This  was  the  first  vintage  of  his 
inquiry.  Without  wealth  himself,  he  resolved  to  do  all  he  could  to 
magnetize  the  community,  hoping  that  some  susceptible  and  opulent  men 


262  SKETCHES    OF    EMINENT    AMERICANS, 

might  be  touched  with  hfe.  In  this  he  was  not  finallj^  disappointed.  He 
began  with  the  Old  Colony,  and  for  two  years  held  conventions  wherever 
he  could,  and  also  kept  the  subject  before  the  people  in  the  public  prints. 
Darkness  and  discouragement  were  all  around  him.  On  every  side  he 
met  cold  shoulders,  and  at  times  his  heart  sank  within  him.  But  he 
thought  it  unwise  to  look  back  when  the  journey  lieth  forward.  He 
trusted  in  God  and  took  courage.  The  real  lovers  of  the  movement 
were  warm  and  efficient.  One  of  these,  a  comparatively  poor  man,  after 
the  conclusion  of  a  lecture,  rose  and  said,  that  "he  would  give  $1000 
towards  the  establishment  of  a  Normal  School  in  Plymouth  County." 
It  would  be  difficult  to  say  how  many  circulars  Mr.  Brooks  printed,  or 
how  many  conventions  he  called ;  but  the  estimate  of  his  labors  may 
be  ascertained  by  extracting  a  few  of  the  many  resolutions  which  were 
passed  by  public  assemblies.     The  following  are  a  fair  sample  : 

"  Resolved — That  our  public  schools  are  very  defective  ;  and  that  these 
defects  have  been  discovered  and  described  by  the  Rev.  Charles  Brooks, 
of  Hingham  ;  and  that  we  approve  of  most  of  his  suggestions  respecting 
the  best  remedies." 

At  another  meeting  we  find  this  : 

"  Resolved — That  the  thanks  of  this  convention  be  given  to  the  Rev. 
Charles  Brooks  for  his  labors  among  us,  during  this  week,  in  the 
patriotic  cause  of  common  schools  ;  and  we  would  express  the  hope,  that 
the  school  rrfonn,  which  he  has  commenced  in  Old  Plymouth,  may  not 
stop  till  it  reaches  the  Rocky  Mountains." 

At  a  large  convention  the  three  following  resolutions  were  unanimously 
proposed. 

''Resolved — That  we  are  not  ashamed  to  borrow  good  ideas  from 
Prussia,  and  we  endorse  the  maxim — as  is  the  teaclher  so  is  the 
school.^'' 

"  Resolved — That  the  establishment  of  Normal  Schools  through 
Massachusetts,  is  the  first  want  of  our  time  and  the  wisest  policy  of  our 
government." 

^'Resolved — That  the  Rev.  Charles  Brooks  has  commenced  a  new 
era  in  the  subject  of  elementary  education  in  New-England,  and  W8 
tender  him  our  hearty  thanks,  and  hereby  offer  him  our  steady  coopera- 
tion." 

To  complete  the  view  of  this  gentleman's  connexion  with  the  great 
republican  cause  of  free  schools,  it  will  only  be  necessary  to  insert  here 
a  copy  of  one  of  his  letters,  written  at  the  request  of  some  friends  in  the 
Old  Colony.     It  is  as  follows  : 

The  communications  in  our  former  numbers,  respecting  the  Bridge- 
water  Normal  School,  and  the  late  annual  address  before  the  pupils,  have 
induced  a  friend  of  Mr.  Brooks  to  write  him  and  ask  about  his  first  move- 
ments in  the  Old  Colony.  He  reluctantly  yielded  to  write  an  account; 
but,  as  it  connects  itself  so  closely  with  the  cause  of  Education  in 
our  commonwealth,  we  think  our  readers  may  be  glad  to  see  it. —  Old 
Colony  Memorial. 

Boston,  September  2d,  1845. 
My  Dear  Sir, — You  ask  me  to  print  my  address,  delivered  at  Bridge- 
water,  before  the   Normal  School.     I   thank  you  for  the  compliment 


REV.    CHARLES    BROOKS,    OF   MASSACHUSETTS.  263 

implied  in  such  a  request,  but,  ray  friend,  the  time  has  passed  for  such 
a  necessity.  Our  battle  with  ignorance  and  prejudice  has  been  fought 
in  the  Old  Colony,  and  the  victory  is  ours  ;  and  there  had  better  not  be 
any  parade  of  the  old  soldiers  quite  yet.  Some  educational  antiquary, 
in  his  pardonable  weakness,  may  show  my  lectures  fifty  years  hence,  as 
they  sometimes  show  old  cannon.  They  are  fast  growing  into  the  sere 
and  ydlow  leaf — so  pray  excuse  me. 

You  ask  about  the  educational  movements  in  the  Old  Colony 
with  which  I  was  connected.  The  story  is  very  short,  and  to  most 
persons  must  be  very  uninteresting. 

While  in  Europe,  in  1833,  I  became  interested  in  the  Prussian  system 
of  education.  I  sought  every  occasion  to  enlarge  my  knowledge  of  its 
natui'e  and  action.  A  good  opportunity  came  to  me  without  my  seeking 
it.  The  King  of  Prussia  had  sent  Dr.  Julius,  of  Hamburg,  to  this 
country  for  the  purpose  of  collecting  information  concerning  our  prisons, 
hospitals,  schools,  &c.  I  happened  to  meet  the  doctor  in  a  literary 
parly,  in  London,  and  he  asked  me  to  become  his  room-mate  on  board 
ship.  I  did  so ;  and  for  forty-one  days  was  with  him  listening  to  his 
descriptions  of  German  and  Prussian  systems  of  instruction.  I  was 
resolved  to  attempt  the  introduction  of  several  parts  of  the  system  into 
the  United  States.  I  formed  my  plan  and  commenced  operations  by  a 
public  announcement,  and  an  address  at  Hinghara.  I  found  some  who 
understood  and  appreciated  my  views,  and  I  worked  on  with  a  new 
convert's  zeal.  In  1835,  I  wrote  and  published  ;  but  few  read  and 
fewer  still  felt  any  interest.  I  was  considered  a  dreamer,  who  wished  to 
fill  our  republican  commonwealth  with  monarchical  institutions.  There 
were  some  amusing  caricatures  of  me  published  to  ridicule  my  labors. 
These  did  me  more  good  than  harm.  I  worked  on  with  precious  few 
encouragements.  I  occupied  Thanksgiving  Day  of  1835  in  advocating 
in  a  public  address,  my  plan  for  Normal  Schools.  I  took  my  stand 
upon  this  Prussian  maxim,  "  as  is  the  teacher  so  is  the  school.^''  I  thought 
the  whole  philosophy  was  summed  up  in  that  single  phrase,  and  I  think 
so  still.  I  accordingly  wrote  all  my  lectures  with  reference  to  the 
establishment  of  Normal  Schools.  I  now  began  to  lecture  before 
lyceums  and  conventions,  and  had  many  stormy  debates,  and  a  wonder- 
ful scarcity  of  compliments.  The  noise  and  dust  of  battle  began  at  last 
to  bring  many  to  the  comitia,  until  we  got  quite  a  respectable  campus 
martius.  I  thought  there  was  one  place  where  1  could  rely  on  intel- 
ligence and  patriotism,  and  there  I  resolved  to  go.  I  accordingly 
published  in  the  newspapers  that  a  convention  would  be  gathered  at 
Plymouth,  in  court  week,  "  to  discuss  the  expediency  of  establishing  a 
Normal  School  in  the  Old  Colony."  The  friends  of  Common  Schools 
assembled,  and  a  private  room  held  us  all ! — but  soon  the  truth  spread, 
and  mjr  friends  in  Hingham  and  Plymouth  came  up  generously  to  the 
work.  We  felt  that  the  two  great  ideas  of  the  church  and  the  school 
house,  which  our  pilgrim  fathers  brought  to  this  shore,  were  to  be  carried 
out,  and  ever  trusted  in  God  they  would. 

But  this  narrative  is  growing  too  long.  In  a  few  words,  then,  let  me 
add,  that  I  found  conventions  to  be  the  best  missionaries  of  the  truth, 
and  I  gathered  them  in  Plymouth,  Duxbury,  New  Bedford,  Bridgewater, 
Kingston,  Hanover,  Hanson,  &c.     The  Old  Colony  was  ready  to  take  the 


264  SKETCHES    OF    EMINENT    AMERICANS. 

lead,  and  we  beo^an  with  petitions  and  memorials  to  the  Legislature,  all 
recommending  "the  establishment  of  Normal  Schools.  How  many 
hundred  pages  I  wrote  on  this  subject  during  1834,  '5,  and  '6,  I  dare  not 
say.  It  was  ihe  subject  of  my  thoughts  and  prayers.  The  wisdom  of 
the  Prussian  scheme  recommended  itself  to  the  reflecting,  and,  as  I  had 
studied  it,  I  was  invited  to  lecture  in  each  of  the  New  England  States. 
I  went  to  Portsmouth,  Concord,  Nashua,  and  Keene,  N.  H. ;  to  Provi- 
dence and  Newport,  R.  I. ;  to  Hartford,  Conn.;  to  New  York,  New- 
Jersey,  Pennsylvania.  I  went  through  our  own  State,  holding  conven- 
tions at  the  large  central  towns.  All  this  time  I  seemed  to  have  little 
real  success.  I  began  to  despair.  I  returned,  after  two  years  of  excessive 
toil,  to  mv  professional  duties,  concluding  that  the  tirae  had  not  yet  come 
for  this  great  movement.  One  evening  in  January,  1837,  I  was  sitting 
reading  to  my  family,  when  a  letter  was  brought  me  from  the  friends  of 
education  in  the  Massachusetts  Legislature,  asking  me  to  lecture  on  my 
hobby  subject  before  that  body.  I  was  electrified  with  joy.  The  whole 
heavens  to  my  eye  seemed  now  tilled  with  rainbows.  January  18th 
came,  and  the  hall  of  the  House  of  Representatives  was  perfectly  full. 
I  gave  an  account  of  the  Prussian  syste^n ;  and  they  asked  if  I  would 
lecture  again.  I  consented,  and  the  next  evening  endeavored  to  show 
how  far  the  Prussian  system  could  he  saftly  adopted  in  the  United  States. 

Here  my  immediate  connexion  with  the  cause  may  be  said  to  stop  ; 
for  Ml-.  Edmund  Dwight,  after  this,  took  the  matter  into  his  hands,  and 
did  for  it  all  a  patriot  could  ask  ;  he  gave  $10,000  for  the  establishment 
of  Normal  Schools,  on  condition  the  State  would  give  as  much.  This 
happily  settled  matters.  A  "  Board  of  Education"  was  established,  and 
they  found  the  man  exactly  suited  to  the  office  of  Secretary ;  and,  at 
Worcester,  August  25th,  1837,  I  bad  the  satisfaction  of  congratulating 
the  American  Institute  in  a  public  address  on  the  realization  of  wishes 
which  they  had  for  years  cherished.  Mr.  Mann  entered  upon  his  labors 
that  day  ;  and  the  results  are  gladdening  the  whole  country.  May  God 
still  smile  on  this  cause  of  causes,  until  schools  shall  cover  the  whole 
world  with  knowledye,  and  Christianity  shall  fill  it  with  love. 

My  friend  :  do  not  misinterpret  my  letter  by  supposing  that  I  origin- 
ated these  ideas.  Oh,  no.  They  were  picked  up  by  me  in  Europe. 
There  had  been  an  attempt  at  a  teachers'  seminary,  at  Lancaster ;  and 
the  American  Institute,  unknown  to  me,  had  discussed  the  subject  before 
I  w;is  a  member  ;  and  the  idea  was  not  a  new  one.  All  I  did  was  to 
bring  it  from  Europe  with  me,  and  talk  about  it,  and  write  about  it, 
until  the  Old  Colony  adopted  it.  I  hope  the  many  early  friends  I  had 
there  will  believe  me  when  I  say  that,  without  their  generous  and  steady 
cooperation  I  should  have  failed  in  my  plans.  The  Normal  Schools  are 
of  Prussian  origin  ;  but  let  us  not  mourn  on  that  account.  The  beauti- 
ful fountain  of  Arethusa  sank  under  the  ground  in  Greece,  and  re-ap- 
peared in  Sicily  ;  but  I  have  never  read  that  the  Sicilians  mourned  for 
the  appearance  of  that  foreign  blessing  among  them. 

Bespeaking  your  patient  forbearance  under  this  epistolary  infliction,  I 
am,  as  ever,  yours  truly, 

CHARLES  BROOKS. 

At  the  annual  meeting  of  the  American  Lyceum,  held  in  the  city  of 


REV.    CHARLES    BROOKS,    OF    MASSACHUSETTS.  265 

New  York  in  1838,  he  proposed  a  national  convention  to  meet  in  the 
Hall  of  Independence  at  Philadelphia,  in  the  next  November.  This  was 
agreed  to,  and  he  was  chosen  chairman  of  the  Committee.  He  wrote 
the  circulars,  and  sent  them  to  each  governor  of  a  state,  hoping  to  get 
members  of  Congress  engaged  in  the  project  of  a  national  society.  This 
important  meeting  took  place,  and  it  resulted  in  the  formation  of  a  society 
which  transferred  itself  to  Washington. 

While  residing  in  Boston  he  became  a  member  of  the  Primary  and 
of  the  Grammar  School  Committees,  and  there  brought  forvk'ard  the  sub- 
ject of  a  superintendent  of  the  city  schools ;  and  proposed  a  gentleman 
for  the  office.  For  three  years  he  advocated  this  measure  in  private  and 
public,  and  he  lives  to  see  it  adopted.  When  he  resigned  his  place  as 
member  of  the  Committee,  the  citizens  of  Ward  7  passed  the  following 
vote  : 

"  Resolved — That  the  thanks  of  the  citizens  of  Ward  7  are  due  to 
the  Rev.  Charles  Brooks  for  the  ability,  energy,  and  fidelity,  evinced  by 
him  during  the  long  period  he  has  served  them  in  the  School  Committee  ; 
and  upon  his  retiring  from  the  position  he  has  so  successfully  filled  we 
hereby  express  our  hearty  approval  of  the  elevated  views,  liberal  prin- 
ciples, and  wise  recognition  of  the  progressive  spirit  of  improvement  in  the 
educational  system  of  our  city  which  have  marked  his  ofiicial  career." 

When  the  Convention  for  revising  the  Constitution  of  Massachusetts 
met  in  1853,  one  of  the  Committee  on  Schools  and  Colleges  requested  his 
views  on  some  points.  He  gave  a  draught  which  he  had  made  seven  years 
before.     It  was  printed  in  several  of  the  newspapers,  and  is  as  follows  : — 

True  Democracy  in  Education. — Mr.  Editor :  Having  recommend- 
ed for  several  years,  both  in  public  and  private,  a  new  organization  of 
our  school  and  college  system,  which  I  have  called  "  The  True  Demo- 
cratic Organization,"  I  now  send  you,  by  request,  a  copy  of  an  outline 
sketch  made  by  me  seven  years  since,  hoping  it  may  find  some  friends  in 
the  Constitutional  Convention.     It  is  as  follows : 

All  children  by  nature  have  equal  rights  to  education.  A  republic, 
by  the  very  principles  of  republicanism,  is  socially,  politically,  and 
morally  bound  to  see  that  all  the  talent  born  within  its  territory,  is  deve- 
loped in  its  natural  order,  proper  time,  and  due  proportion,  thus  enabling 
every  mind  to  make  the  most  of  itself.  The  State  stands  in  loco  parentis 
to  every  child,  and  should  fitly  use  all  the  means  and  capabilities  sent  by 
Heaven  for  its  highest  aggrandizement. 

The  question  then  is.  How  can  the  State  thus  promote  its  own  highest 
good?  I  answer,  by  the  cstablinhnent  of  free  schools  and  free  colleges. 
Extend  the  New  England  idea  of  free  schools,  and  the  true  democratic 
result  is  reached.  It  is  this  :  The  town  says  to  every  child  born  within 
its  limits,  "  Go  to  the  Primary  School  as  soon  as  you  are  four  years  old  ; 
there  you  will  find  rooms,  books,  and  teachers ;  use  them  all  gratis ;  your 
parents  need  only  to  clothe  and  feed  you."  When  these  children  have 
been  taught  three  or  four  years  in  the  Primary  School,  the  town  says  to 
theju,  "  Go  up  into  the  Grammar  School,  there  you  will  find  rooms,  books, 
apparatus,  and  teachers  ;  use  them  all  at  my  expense  ;  your  parents  need 
only  feed  and  clothe  you."  When  these  children  have  been  to  th(^  Gram- 
mar School  three  or  four  years,  the  town  says  to  them,  "  Go  into  the 
High  School,  or  Latin  School,  or  Scientific  School,  or  the  School  of  Arts 


266  SKETCHES    OF   EMINENT    AMERICANS. 

and  Trades ;  there  you  will  find  rooms,  books,  apparatus,  tools,  and  teachers ; 
use  them  all  gratis  ;  your  parents  need  only  feed  and  clothe  you."  When 
these  children  have  spent  three  or  four  years  in  these  schools,  the  State 
says  to  them,  "  Go  up  to  the  College  and  enter  the  department  which  is 
fitted  for  you  ;  there  you  will  find  rooms,  books,  apparatus,  tools,  and 
teachers  ;  use  them  all  gratis ;  your  parents  need  only  feed  and  clothe 
you,"  When  these  pupils  have  passed  four  years  in  the  College,  the 
State  says  to  them,  "  Go  into  the  University  for  Law  or  Medicine.  There 
you  shall  find  rooms,  books,  and  teachers ;  use  them  all  gratis ;  your 
parents  need  only  feed  and  clothe  you." 

My  reasons  for  this  plan  of  free  schools  and  free  colleges  I  must  defer 
to  another  week,  hoping  to  show  that  republicanism  requires  some  system 
of  free  culture,  where  the  wealth  of  a  community  should  pay  for  its  schools. 
The  undue  rush  of  pupils  to  the  college  and  university,  which  this  plan 
may  seem  to  favor,  can  be  fully  and  for  ever  prevented,  and  the  law  of 
demand  and  supply  have  its  conservative  and  discriminating  control. 
This  plan  will  not  interfere  with  the  present  foundations  of  professorships, 
&c.,  existing  in  our  colleges.  It  will  have  many  advantages  over  our 
present  semi-feudal  organizations.  Among  these  advantages  are  three — 
1st.  It  will  develope,  for  its  noblest  uses,  the  peculiar  talent  which  God 
gives  to  any  child ;  2d.  It  will  make  our  colleges  self-governing ;  and, 
3d.  It  will  secure  the  ablest  talents  in  the  State  for  teachers. 

If  our  Republic  is  to  last  a  thousand  years,  is  it  not  worth  while  to 
make  it  all  it  can  be  ? 

As  a  member  of  the  examining  committee  of  Harvard  College,  in 
the  department  of  science,  Mr.  Brooks  became  convinced  of  the  defi- 
ciencies in  the  mode  of  conducting  the  quarterly  examinations ;  and  by 
a  private  circular  assembled  the  examiners  in  the  senate  chamber  of  the 
state-house.  There  he  exposed  at  length  the  errors  of  the  established 
system,  and  ended  with  recommending  future  examinations  by  means  of 
printed  questions.  The  major  part  of  seventy  were  ready  to  adopt  his 
idea ;  but  the  minority  got  immediate  action  postponed,  which  has 
amounted  to  an  indefinite  postponement. 

As  secretary  of  the  Sunday  School  society,  Mr.  B.  has  published  four 
annual  reports,  whose  objects  were  to  go  over  the  whole  ground  of  spiri- 
tual culture ;  and  to  show  that  the  harmonious  development  of  all  the 
powers  of  the  human  soul,  is  the  only  way  of  realizing  God's  idea  of 
a  man. 

In  1838,  he  was  elected  Professor  of  Natural  History  in  the  Uni- 
versity of  the  city  of  New  York ;  and  accepted  on  condition  that  he 
might  spend  some  time  in  Europe,  to  prepare  for  his  duties.  Leave  was 
granted  him.  This  ended  a  ministry  of  eighteen  years  in  Hingham,  to 
the  same  parish.  The  resolutions  unanimously  passed  by  the  church 
and  society,  on  the  occasion,  record  their  gratitude  for  his  past  labors, 
and  their  hearty  wishes  for  his  future  success.  Previous  to  his  departure 
for  Europe,  he  was  married  to  Mrs.  Charlotte  A.  H.  Lord,  daughter  of 
Dr.  Nath.  Appleton  Haven,  of  I*ortsmouth,  New  Hampshire,  and  with 
this  highly  estimable  lady,  he  sailed  for  Havre,  Nov.  9,  1849,  taking 
with  him  his  two  children.  During  four  years'  residence,  in  dift'erent 
parts  of  the  Continent,  he  devoted  himself  to  the  study  of  the  animal 
kingdom,  and  after  his  return,  2)ublished  a  large  volume  on  Ornithology, 


REV.    CHARLES    BROOKS,    OF    MASSACHUSETTS.  26'7 

illustrated  with  many  valuable  plates,  protmred  from  his  friend  Milne 
Edwards,  Piofcssor  in  the  Garden  of  Plants  in  Paris.  Failure  of  eye- 
sight prevt-nted  the  prosecution  of  the  plan  he  had  projected  for  further 
publications  ;  and  on  the  same  account  he  resigned  his  professorship,  and 
retired  to  private  life  in  Boston,  where  for  the  last  ten  years  he  has 
enjuyed  the  friendship  and  esteem  of  a  large  circle  of  intelligent  and 
virtuous  friends. 

To  >show  the  design  and  style  of  the  work  on  Oj-nithology,  we  need 
quote  only  a  few  passages. 

"The  basis  of  all  outward  things  is  spiritual ;  and  I  have  written  this 
work  to  indicate  the  path  from  the  natural  to  the  spiritual  world. 

"  The  Creator  expresses  himself  to  man  by  his  creations.  The  dis- 
tinguishing glory  in  the  study  of  Natural  History,  is  its  development 
and  illustration  of  the  ways  of  God._  The  science  which  does  not  pene- 
trate this  central  idea,  is  oidy  superficial  amusement.  I  frankly  confess, 
that  the  great  charm  which  the  visible  universe  has  in  my  heart  and 
eye,  is  its  subordination  to  spiritual  ideas.  All  beauty  is  to  me 
reflective. 

"There  is  an  all-pervading  harmony  in  the  vast  creation,  marshalling 
its  infinite  diversities.  Every  organ,  in  every  animal,  has  a  direct 
relationship  to  all  the  rest  of  the  globe ;  and  we  say  that  the  form  of  the 
Condor's  wing  is  as  much  a  necessity  as  the  power  of  gravitation,  and  that 
it  bears  as  strict  a  '  relation  to  the  earth,  as  gravitation  does  to  the 
solar  system." 

After  narrating  what  Linnaeus,  BufFon,  and  Cuvier,  had  done,  he  sum- 
marily speaks  of  them  thus  : — 

"  Button  was  a  timely  author ;  for  he  completed  what  Linnaeus  had 
begun.  If  the  Swede  was  a  microscope,  the  Frenchman  was  a  tele- 
scope. Bufl;bn  had  the  genius  to  recommend  what  Linnteus  had  the 
talent  to  establish.  Linnaeus  furnished  all  the  facts ;  Buffbn  set  them  all 
to  music. 

"  When  Heaven  wants  a  philosopher,  the  order  of  events  creates 
him.  George  Cuvier  appeared  at  the  proper  moment ;  and  the  nine- 
teenth century  has  crowned  him  the  second  great  legislator  in  science. 
His  treatise  on  comparative  anatomy  was,  to  this  subject,  not  so  much 
an  epoch  of  regeneration  as  creation.  A  mind  such  as  Cuvier  possessed 
was  needed  for  the  age,  and  he  finished  his  work  as  if  he  had  been 
a  divine  messenger.  He  seemed  to  look  upon  the  works  of  God,  from 
that  angle  at  which  the  mighty  Maker  himself  surveyed  them  when  he 
pronounced  them  good  ;  and  he  saw  God  shining  through  them  all,  as 
shines  the  sunbeam  in  a  drop  of  dew." 

We  will  give  but  one  more  extract. 

"  Every  particle  of  matter  is  governed  by  a  fixed  and  immutable  law ; 
and  this  law  originates  in  God,  and  is  science  to  man.  To  separate  the 
law  from  its  source,  is  to  separate  creation  from  its  Creator,  and  to  leave 
the  universe  an  orphan.  I  devoutly  liope  that  there  may  never  be  found 
in  our  country  the  mind  that  shall  separate  God  and  science ;  but  if, 
among  intellectual  motions,  some  centrifugal  tendency  may  have  propelled 
any  original  mind  from  the  great  central  idea  of  God  in  science,  may  that 
mind  soon  discover  its  fatal  mistake,  and  be  convinced  that  it  cannot  find 
in  the  whole  universe  another  perihelion ;  for  we  know  that  mind,  like 


268  SKETCHES    OF   EMINENT    AMERICANS. 

matter,  moves  in  tbe  direction  of  its  impelling  force,  and  if  the  fii-st  im- 
pulse be  given  to  it  at  tbe  wrong  point,  unless  its  momentum  be  resisted 
and  overcome  by  some  opposing  power,  it  will  move  onward  in  the  path 
of  ei'ror,  and  drive  along  its  downward  way  with  accelerated  velocity,  aided 
by  the  gravity  of  accumulated  error,  till  it  finally  passes  and  is  lost  in  dreary 
space  beyond  the  affinity  of  centripetal  forces.  Let  us  then  rest  in  the 
conclusion,  that  true  science  is  unchanging  and  immortal ;  that  it  grows 
out  of  the  relations  which  God  himself  has  created,  and  that  it  stands  for 
ever  as  his  own  language,  as  his  first  revelation ;  and  let  us  moreover  re- 
joice, that  the  grand  and  sacred  text  of  Divine  Truth  which  it  utters,  is 
written  in  characters  which  will  stand  as  long  as  the  stars." — "  Thus  the 
true  naturalist  '  looks  through  natu)'e  up  to  nature's  God,'  and  is  more 
able  than  others  to  see,  that  Love  is  the  great  principle  of  gravitation  in 
the  spiritual  world,  binding  every  devout  mind  to  the  central  source  of 
life,  wisdom,  and  bliss. 

"  Oh !  that  every  one  were  able  thus  to  think  the  Ci-eator's  thoughts 
after  him  ;  and  thus  welcome  the  Fatherhood  of  God  and  the  Brotherhood 
of  man." 

Mr.  Brooks  was  elected  a  member  of  the  Natural  History  Society  of 
Massachusetts,  soon  after  his  return  from  Europe ;  and  the  next  year  de- 
livered before  them  the  annual  address. 

His  researches  in  Natural  History,  while  at  Paris,  led  him  to  watch 
physiological  developments  with  peculiar  interest ;  and  among  the  results 
he  reached  were  some  which  relate  to  consanguinities.  He  has  spoken 
and  published  on  the  subject  of  marriage  between  near  relatives.  He 
says — "  Second  cousins  had  better  not  marry  ;  but  first  cousins  never : 
God  and  nature  forbid  the  banns." 

He  observed  the  sickly  hue  on  the  faces  of  city  children,  and  published 
a  plan  of  his  for  ?i  farm- school  for  the  sons  of  the  rich  men  of  cities.  His 
idea  was  to  give  them  country  air,  country  work,  country  sports,  and  coun- 
try classics.  Each  feeble  child  was  to  spend  six  months  on  a  farm,  divid- 
ing the  time  properly  between  study,  work,  and  play.  This  plan  for  pro- 
moting muscular  strength  has  been  highly  approved,  and  will  doubtless 
be  adopted. 

"  Non  accepimus  brevem  vitam,  sed  fecimus." 

AVhile  residing  in  Boston  he  has  been  found  so  wiHins:  to  work  that  he 
was  at  one  tune  a  member  of  nine  executive  committees.  For  all  these 
labors  he  refused  compensation.  For  all  his  travel,  time,  and  money  in 
the  cause  of  education,  he  never  received  one  cent ;  except  after  his  course 
of  lectures  before  the  Legislature  of  New  Hampshire,  and  there  they  pre- 
sented him  with  forty  dollars.  He  has  spent  some  thousands  out  of  his 
own  pocket. 

Having  of  late  years  circulated  widely  among  his  clerical  brethren,  he 
discovered  the  sorrowful  fact  that  many  of  them  were  suffering  in  silence 
and  in  secresy  from  a  want  of  adequate  salaries.  He  began  to  collect  sta- 
tistics ;  and  when  convinced  of  the  accuracy  of  his  data  he  came  forth  be- 
fore his  brethren,  on  "  anniversary  week,"  and  proposed  the  formation  of  a 
"  society  for  the  relief  of  aged  and  destitute  clergymen."  He  was  readily 
met  with  an  approving  vote,  and  they  requested  him  to  prosecute  his  plan. 
Getting  all  the  aid  he  could  he  drafted  a  constitution  and  by-laws,  and 


REV.    CHARLES    BROOKS,    OF    MASSACHUSETTS.  269 

submitted  tliem  to  his  brethren.  They  were  accepted,  and  the  society  was 
organized.  He  then  proposed  an  act  of  incorporation.  Three  members 
were  chosen  to  procure  the  requisite  legislative  grant.  The  act  wa.s  ob- 
tained by  Mr.  Brooks,  and  he  was  chosen  secretary,  and  immediately  com- 
menced raising  funds ;  and  without  one  personal  application  he,  with  the 
treaeurer,  raised  about  eight  thousand  dollars  towards  a  permanent  fund. 
The  interest  only  of  the  fund  can  be  given ;  and  no  one  is  allowed  to 
know  who  receives  aid,  except  the  beneficiary  and  the  executive  committee. 
Most  welcome  succor  has  been  afforded  to  many  by  this  good  Samaritan. 

Fond  of  mechanics,  Mr.  Brooks  suggested  some  years  since,  to  the 
Academy  of  Arts,  a  plan  by  which  all  the  public  bells  of  a  city  should 
be  made  to  strike  the  hours,  at  the  same  instant,  by  means  of  a  central 
electro-magnetic  power.  He  thought  this  power  might  be  so  extended, 
that  small  bells  in  every  house  might  announce  the  true  time  simulta- 
neously through  a  city.  The  fire-alarms,  since  introduced,  are  somev?hat 
according  to  this  idea.  He  has  never  had  time  or  funds  to  build  the 
machine. 

The  writings  of  Mr.  Brooks  have  been  rather  numerous  than  volumi- 
nous. He  published  anonymously  two  volumes  of  Biography,  which 
were  soon  sold ;  but  he  has  not  found  the  leisure  to  continue  the  series 
which  he  promised. 

While  in  Paris,  he  occupied  one  of  his  vacations  in  writing  a  book 
called  "Parisian  Linguist,"  of  255  pages,  whose  object  was  to  teach  the 
best  pronunciation  of  the  French  language,  by  means  of  an  English 
spelling  of  each  word.  They  who  have  not  the  aid  of  living  teachers, 
and  they  who  travel  on  the  continent,  have  found  this  volume  suited  to 
their  wants. 

He  became  interested  in  the  inquiries  of  the  American  Statistical 
Association ;  and  as  a  member  of  it,  published  a  paper  on  the  sanitary 
survey  of  the  state.  He  has  been  a  contributor  to  the  Colonization, 
Peace  and  Temperance  publications,  to  the  North  American  Review,  the 
Christian  Examiner,  Scriptural  Interpreter,  Religious  Magazine,  Knicker- 
bocker, Graham's  Magazine,  one  newspaper  in  Washington,  one  in  New 
York,  and  three  in  Boston.  Of  pamphlets  and  sermons,  he  has  printed 
several ;  one  of  which,  on  "  Peace,  Labor  and  Education  in  Europe,"  went 
through  two  large  editions.  His  small  volume  of  "prayers  for  indivi- 
duals," called  "  The  Christian  in  his  Closet,"  went  through  two  editions 
in  less  than  three  months.  After  that  destructive  tornado,  which  occur- 
red in  Middlesex  County  in  Massachusetts,  in  August,  1851,  the  citizens 
of  Medford  requested  Mr.  Brooks  to  collect  all  the  facts  relating  to  it, 
with  reference  to  science  ;  and  after  much  labor,  his  report  was  published 
by  its  citizens.  He  is  now  writing  a  history  of  his  native  town,  which 
will  connect  itself  with  all  the  interesting  events  of  that  part  of  the  coun- 
try from  1630,  to  the  present  time. 

As  specimens  of  his  various  style  in  writing,  we  might  mention  his 
sketch  of  his  ascent  on  Mount  Vesuvius  during  the  eruption  of  1834; 
his  minute  description  of  the  wonderful  improvisatrice  of  Italy,  Rosa 
Taddai,  whose  extraordinary  powers  he  witnessed  at  Rome  ;  his  speech 
in  that  city,  Feb.  22,  1834,  on  the  true  mission  of  "An  American 
School  of  Fine  Arts ;"  and  his  "  Ride  through  the  Gulph,"  among  the 
Green  Mountains  of  Vermont. 


270  SKETCHES    OF   EMINENT   AMEKICANS. 

As  a  specimen  of  his  preaching  we  add  a  short  extract.  He  has 
described  the  first  disciples  of  our  Lord,  the  primitive  church  at  Jerusa- 
lem, and  then  he  says  ; — 

"  It  girds  the  inner  man  with  strength,  to  contemplate  this  band  of 
believers,  made  invincible  by  the  presence  of  a  spiritual  heroism.  Think 
what  God  made  that  church  at  first,  and  not  what  man  has  made  it 
since.  The  waters  of  life  gushed  pure  from  their  heavenly  fountain,  but 
they  have  been  discolored  by  every  earthly  bed  over  which  they  have 
glided.  If  you  would  see  Christianity  in  its  heaven-born  beauty,  and 
understand  its  new  creative  power,  you  must  go  to  the  mind  of  Christ, 
when  he  opened  his  mouth  on  the  mount,  and  uttered  the  truths  of  the 
eternal  kingdom.  At  that  time,  the  Christian  church  was  introduced  to 
earth ;  and  that  church  was  theyi  pure,  peaceful,  and  divine.  It  had  not 
been  contaminated  by  any  mixture  with  the  Grecian  schools ;  it  had  not 
been  called  upon  to  decide  in  councils,  upon  the  subtleties  of  metaphysical 
doctrines  ;  it  had  not  yet  formed  an  alliance  with  political  artifice ;  it  had 
not  yet  ascended  the  throne  of  the  Caesars,  or  been  made  the  instrument 
of  powerful  tyi'anny  in  the  state,  or  usurped  the  place  of  all  other  govern- 
ment, or  conceived  the  bold  idea  of  dictating  to  the  world.  It  had  not 
yet  even  thought  of  laying  the  corner-stone  of  popery,  or  once  dreamed 
of  wearing  the  triple  crown.  Of  course,  it  had  not  yet  brought  civil 
power  to  combine  with  religious  zeal,  nor  given  to  worldly  ambition  the 
hue  of  Christian  charity,  nor  baptized  human  passion  with  the  name  of 
godliness.  It  had  not  yet  practised  exorcism  upon  the  bodies  of  the 
living,  or  used  incantations  for  the  souls  of  the  dead.  It  had  not  yet 
armed  with  a  sword  every  article  of  its  faith,  nor  opened  the  fires  of  hell 
to  illumine  the  way  to  heaven.  It  had  not  yet  learned  that  most  cruel 
of  arts,  to  taint  its  very  benefits  with  unkindness,  to  blemish  with  selfish- 
ness its  own  good  works,  to  dip  in  gall  the  morsel  it  gave  to  imploring 
hanger,  or  line  with  thorns  the  garment  it  threw  over  shivering  naked- 
ness. It  had  not  yet  learned  lo  stamp  the  crest  of  pride  on  all  its  gifts. 
Especially,  it  had  not  yet  unfurled  the  banners  of  war,  and  at  the  head 
of  a  heated  army,  with  the  holy  cross  as  standard,  marched  to  the  reco- 
very of  the  city  of  Jerusalem.  Above  all,  it  had  not  yet  sat  in  judgment 
over  the  consciences  of  men  at  the  bar  of  an  Inquisition,  nor  had  it 
bound  Servetus  to  a  flaming  stake,  nor  kindled  the  faggots  around  a  pious 
Latimer.  No — The  infant  church  had  not  yet  rolled  its  dreadful  thun- 
ders to  terrify,  nor  sent  forth  its  sweeping  lightnings  to  destroy." 

Mr.  Brooks  has  two  brothers  and  two  sisters,  towards  who|n  he  has 
always  cherished  the  tenderest  love  ;  and  a  large  family  of  relatives,  with 
all  of  whom  he  has  lived  on  terms  of  closest  friendship.  To  his'  two 
unmarried  sisters  he,  with  his  brothers,  requested  his  father  to  bequeathe 
his  portion  of  the  paternal  estate ;  and  it  was  done. 


"by  R,  Soper 


'•'i^rayBd-rorBw^rapHicaLSkeizjkes  of  Embierit  . 


:  rruiTLaaj-is 


OLIVKR    HARRISON    LEE,   OF    NEW    YORK.  271 

OLIVER    HARRISON    LEE, 

OF    NEW    YORK, 

Is  a  descendant  of  the  good  old  Puritan  stock.  His  ancestry  emigi-ated 
from  England  at  an  early  date,  and  settled  in  Connecticut.  His  paternal 
grandfather,  the  Rev.  Jonathan  Lee,  was  a  Congregational  clergyman,  who 
died  October  8th,  l^SS,  at  the  advanced  age  of  71  years,  in  Salisbury, 
Connecticut,  where  his  monument  is  still  standing,  and  testifying  to  his 
fidelity  in  the  cause  of  his  master.  His  father,  the  Rev.  Chauncey  Lee,  D.D., 
was  also  an  active  and  useful  preacher  of  the  Gospel,  and  was  settled  more 
than  thirty  years  as  pastor  of  the  Congregational  Church  in  Colebrook, 
Litchfield  County,  Connecticut. 

The  subject  of  this  notice,  who  was  bora  in  this  town,  June  1st,  1814, 
was  the  youngest  of  six  children.  The  rearing  and  education  of  so  large 
a  family  was  a  heavy  tax  upon  the  slender  salary  of  a  country  clergyman, 
and  it  was  reluctantly  decided  that  Oliver,  at  that  time  eight  years  old, 
should  avail  himself  of  the  kind  offer  of  a  wealthy  relative,  residing  in 
Albany,  who  proposed  to  take  him  into  his  family  as  a  son,  and  provide 
for  his  education  and  future  prospects. 

Under  the  tutelage  of  one,  who  faithfully  supplied  to  him  the  place  of  a 
mother,  lost  in  infancy,  he  here  developed  those  sterling  traits  of  mind  and 
character  which  have  ultimately  led  to  success  in  life,  and  have,  in  the 
judgment  of  the  writer,  rendered  his  career  worthy  of  emulation  by  the 
youth  of  our  land. 

At  the  early  age  of  twelve  years,  he  deliberately  chose  his  future  profes- 
sion, and  with  all  the  energy  of  a  nature  peculiarly  systematic  and  perse- 
vering, he  devoted  himself  to  the  pursuit  of  such  studies  as  would  prove 
most  serviceable  in  the  vocation  which  he  had  selected.  He  decided  to 
become  a  Surveyor  and  Civil  Engineer,  and  with  this  main  object  in  view 
he  at  once  turned  his  attention  more  especially  to  the  department  of  mathe- 
matics. 

For  two  years  he  enjoyed  the  personal  instruction  of  Professor  Joseph 
Henry,  the  present  Secretary  of  the  Smithsonian  Institute,  whose  researches 
in  various  fields  of  scientific  knowledge  have  justly  placed  him  in  the  first 
rank  among  the  savans  of  the  age.  While  under  Professor  Henry's  imme- 
diate tuition,  he  completed  a  thorough  course  of  mathematical  study,  com- 
prising the  higher  investigations  of  the  most  eminent  French  authors,  and 
graduated  at  the  Albany  Academy,  in  August,  1831,  at  the  age  of  seven- 
teen, receiving  the  highest  honors  in  every  class  in  which  he  was  a  compe- 
titor, including  the  prize  awarded  to  the  best  pubhc  speaker  in  the  institution. 

He  had  no  sooner  completed  his  studies,  in  a  manner  creditable  to  him- 
self and  gratifying  to  his  friends,  than  he  determined  without  delay  to 
commence  the  active  business  of  life,  and  to  depend  entirely  on  his  own 
professional  resources.  He  immediately  sought  an  introduction  to  John  B. 
Jervis,  Esq.,  who  may  justly  be  considered  the  father  of  American  railroad 
engineering,  and  solicited  employment.  Mr.  Jervis  was  then  chief 
engineer  of  the  Saratoga  and  Schenectady  Railroad,  and  lie  at  once  gave 


2*72  SKETCHES    OF    EMINENT    AMERICANS. 

to  tlie  young  applicant  a  subordinate  position  on  that  work,  under  the  im- 
mediate charge  of  William  C.  Young,  Esq.,  the  resident  engineer. 

Such  an  o])portunity  of  active  effort  was  all  he  desired ;  and  the  writer 
of  this  sketch  has  often  heard  him  state,  that,  after  that  time,  although 
commencing  on  a  salary  of  twelve  dollars  a  month,  he  never  would 
recei^'e  the  least  pecuniary  aid  from  home,  preferring  to  rely  entirely  on  his 
own  resources. 

Self-reliant  and  energetic,  fond  of  his  profession  and  ardent  in  its  pur- 
suit, he  determined  to  succeed,  and  at  the  completion  of  the  Saratoga 
Railroad,  he  had  risen  much  in  position,  and  received  flattering  testimo- 
nials of  proficiency  and  skill  from  his  Chief  Engineer. 

When  the  surveys  of  the  Chenango  Canal  were  commenced,  he  was 
assigned  an  important  position  in  the  engineer  corps,  and  remained  in  that 
service  until  September,  1833,  when  he  received  the  appointment  of  resi- 
dent engineer  of  the  eastern  division  of  the  Utica  and  Schenectady  Rail- 
road, extending  fi-om  near  Palatine  Bridge  to  Schenectady. 

This  work  was  constructed  under  the  efficient  direction  of  William  C. 
Young,  as  chief  engineer,  and  is  justly  considered  one  of  the  most  impor- 
tant public  works  in  the  country. 

In  August,  1836,  this  road  was  finished  and  opened  for  public  use. 
Our  young  engineer  enjoyed  a  brief  respite  from  active  service,  which 
occasion  he  wisely  improved  by  uniting  in  marriage  with  Janette,  daughter 
of  the  late  Philip  S.  Parker,  Esq.,  of  Albany, 

While  absent  on  his  wedding  tour,  he  was  notified  of  his  appointment 
as  chief  engineer  of  the  Syracuse  and  Utica  Railroad,  and  was  summoned 
to  return  and  commence  the  surveys  of  this  work.  The  construction  of 
this  road  was  attended  with  peculiar  difficulties,  and  involved  a  departure 
from  the  usual  mode  of  building.  More  than  half  the  distance  the  route 
of  this  road  passed  through  swamps,  where  the  soft  and  semi-fluid  alluvial 
or  muck  soil  was  from  six  to  twenty  feet  deep.  This  material  was  unfit 
for  a  road-bed,  and  incapable  of  supporting  the  weight  of  any  structure. 
It  was  impossible  to  procure  suitable  material  for  embankments  ^^ithin 
a  reasonable  distance,  or  to  carry  it  into  the  swamps  in  the  usual 
manner. 

Mr.  Lee  successfully  surmounted  these  obstacles  by  adopting  a  system 
of  piling,  ingeniously  adapted  to  such  localities.  Steam  pile  drivers  were 
prepared,  which  rapidly  drove  a  double  row  of  heavy  piles,  until  they 
found  a  firm  bearing  on  the  solid  subsoil. 

A  saw,  working  horizontally,  also  driven  bv  steam,  then  cut  off  the 
piles  to  the  proper  grade ;  the  machine  moved  forward  resting  on  the 
piles  already  driven,  thus  completing  the  road  as  it  advanced.  In  many 
cases  the  piling  was  drH'en  to  a  depth  of  fifty  feet  before  a  reliable  founda- 
tion could  be  obtained.  On  this  pile  work  the  load  was  originally  con- 
structed over  a  reraarkal>ly  level  route  which  must  otherwise  have  been 
abandoned  as  impracticable.  The  surplus  income  of  the  road  was  suffi- 
cient, subsequently,  without  impairing  its  regular  dividends,  to  make  sub- 
stantial gravel  embankments  through  the  swamps,  by  drawing  in  mate- 
rials from  a  distance  in  cars. 

This  important  link  in  the  great  chain  of  western  communication,  was 
completed  and  opened  for  travel  in  July,  1839.  Mr.  Lee  was  thereupon 
appointed  Superintendent  of  its  business,  and  for  a  period  of  more  than 


OLIVER    HARRISON    LEE,    OF    NEW   YORK,  273 

two  years,  discharged  the  responsible  duties  of  this  trust,  in  a  manner 
satisfactory  to  the  company  and  to  the  public. 

The  long  exposure  to  the  miasma  of  the  swamp  lands  along  the  route, 
during  the  survey,  construction,  and  management  of  the  road,  had  now 
so  seriously  impaired  his  health,  that  Mr.  Lee  found  it  necessary  to  make 
a  change  of  residence,  for  the  purpose  of  its  restoration. 

He  resigned  his  office  on  the  Syracuse  &  Utica  Railroad  in  August 
1841,  and  removed  to  the  city  of  New  York.  Possessing  a  tempera- 
ment too  active  to  remain  long  unemployed,  he  engaged  with  an  elder 
brother  in  mercantile  pursuits,  and  by  his  methodical  and  prudent  ma- 
nagement, in  connection  with  the  experience  of  his  brother,  the  house  of 
"  Lee  Brothers  "  soon  acquired  a  reputation  and  credit  of  the  most  un- 
doubted character. 

In  August,  1849,  William  C.  Young,  Esq.,  who  had  for  many  years 
been  Superintendent  of  the  Utica  &  Schenectady  Railroad,  was  appointed 
Chief  Engineer  of  the  Hudson  River  Railroad.  He  immediately  offered 
the  position  of  Principal  Assistant  on  that  important  work  to  Mr.  Lee, 
who  with  recovered  health  at  once  entered  on  the  duties  of  the  office, 
which  he  held  until  May  of  the  following  year,  when  he  was  unani- 
mously appointed  General  Superintendent  of  the  road. 

The  duties  of  this  position  were  extremely  onerous.  The  increasing 
business  of  the  Company  was  to  be  systematized,  the  duties  and  responsi- 
bilities of  the  numerous  employees  lo  be  distinctly  defined  and  understood, 
time  tables  to  be  arranged,  freight  tarifts  to  be  digested,  in  connexion 
with  the  repairs  of  the  track,  finishing  and  improving  the  various  struc- 
tures, and  the  immense  amount  of  detail  incident  to  the  daily  working 
of  so  extensive  an  organization. 

We  speak  the  opinion  of  the  Directors,  and  we  believe  that  of  the 
entire  travelHng  community,  when  we  say  that  in  this  arduous  and  highly 
responsible  trust,  Mr.  Lee  fully  sustained  his  reputation  as  an  efficient, 
vigilant,  and  competent  officer.  To  him  is  the  Company  indebted  for  the 
first  printed  code  of  regulations  for  the  government  of  their  transporta- 
tion service,  and  for  many  substantial  improvements  along  the  line  of 
their  road,  in  the  running  machinery,  and  in  the  system  of  supervising 
and  conducting  the  complex  business  of  the  corporation.  It  is  worthy 
of  remark  that  among  the  1,300,000  passengers  carried  on  the  Hudson 
River  Railroad,  while  under  the  superintendence  of  Oliver  H.  Lee,  but 
one  fatal  accident  occurred  to  a  passenger,  and  that  resulted  entirely  from 
the  carelessness  of  the  injured  party. 

Mr.  Lee's  habit  ever  was  to  personally  prepare  every  time-table,  to  issue 
even  the  minutest  order  in  Avriting,  and  while  treating  his  subordinates 
with  kindness,  to,hold  each  one  to  a  strict  performance  of  duty. 

The  incessant  and  increasing  labors  of  his  office  began  to  impair  hia 
health,  and  finding  it  advisable  to  leave  the  service  of  the  Company,  for 
the  purpose  of  recruiting  his  over-taxed  powers,  he  resigned  his  position  a» 
superintendent,  on  the  first  of  September,  1851. 

At  the  next  meeting  of  the  board,  after  the  passage  of  resolutions 
expressing  their  appreciation  of  his  fidelity  and  skill,  the  directors,  desirous 
to  retain  his  services,  released  him  from  the  duties  of  superintendent,  and 
imanimously  elected  him  secretary  of  the  Company.  The  duties  of  this 
office  being  more  compatible  with  the  state  of  his  health,  he  accepted  the 

VOL.  ui.  18 


274  SKETCHES    OF    EMINENT    AMERICANS. 

position,  which  he  held  until  May  20,  1852,  at  which  time  he  accepted  the 
appointment  of  chief  engineer  of  the  Chicago  and  Mississippi  Railroad, 
designed  to  connect  the  cities  of  Chicago  and  St.  Louis,  by  a  line  of  road 
255  miles  in  length. 

On  dissolving  his  connexion  with  the  Hudson  River  Railroad  Company, 
a  resolution  was  passed  by  the  Directors,  approving  the  manner  in  which 
he  had  discharged  his  duties;  and  in  the  fifth  annual  report  of  the 
Company,  the  Directors  state  that  "  Mr.  Lee  retires  from  the  service  of  the 
Company  with  the  respect  and  esteem  of  every  membei"  of  the  Board." 

The  employees  of  the  Company,  who  had  so  long  served  under  his 
supervision,  desirous  of  evincing  their  kind  feeling  towards  one  whom  they 
had  ever  considered  as  their  friend,  presented  Mr.  Lee  with  a  parting  gift, 
consisting  of  an  elegant  service  of  plate,  with  appropriate  devices  and 
inscriptions,  costing  one  thousand  dollars. 

Mr.  Lee  is  now  prosecuting  to  a  successful  completion,  the  important 
enterprise  of  connecting  by  iron  bands  the  two  great  cities  of  the  West. 
The  road  under  his  charge  is  well  advanced,  and  early  during  the  ensuing 
year  it  will  be  completed,  and  become  another  monument  of  his  profes- 
sional skill  and  practical  energy  of  character. 

Mr.  Lee  has  ever  been  a  liberal  supporter  of  the  religious  and  philan- 
thropic institutions  of  the  age,  and  an  uncompromising  advocate  of  truth 
and  right.  The  poor  have  always  found  in  him  a  benevolent  friend  and 
kind  adviser.  He  has  for  many  years  actively  filled  the  office  of  ruling 
elder  in  the  Presbyterian  Church,  and  been  an  efficient  teacher  or  superin- 
tendent of  Sabbath  schools,  in  the  various  places  where  he  has  resided,  and 
by  his  consistent,  upright,  and  unobtrusive  course,  has  gained  the  confi- 
dence and  esteem  of  an  unusually  large  circle  of  acquaintances. 


-al5>-sap? 


^^^'ed-fajr  J,C  BiHtre  feom  a Dagieneot^p^ 


u."-  JiOCSESTi:jl,   NEWYOItZ 


Engnaed,  -far  BwarapTticdl  Skelehes  ofUmin^nt/^rrwricans 


GEORGE  SHELTON,  OF  ROCHESTER,  N.  Y.  275 

GEORGE      SHELTON, 

OF  ROCHESTER,  NEW  YORK. 

Every  age  has  its  characteristics, — its  leading  traits  which  distinguish 
it  from  the  past,  and  set  it  apart,  as  a  beacon  light,  to  mark  the  courses 
in  the  streams  of  time.  And  it  is  plainly  the  duty  of  history  to  faith- 
fully record,  not  only  the  events  of  time,  but  the  experiences  of  its  chief 
actors, — by  which  term,  we  do  not  mean  to  include  only  its  heroes, 
poets,  orators,  and  statesmen,  but  also  the  more  frequent  and  common 
workers  distinguished  among  the  masses  of  humanity.  In  the  great 
progressive  woi'k  of  civilization, — the  building  up  of  a  jjure  social  fabric, 
and  a  national  and  universal  amity  of  good  will,  the  coral  insects  of  hu- 
man life,  in  their  silent  and  steady  labor,  are  moi'C  essential  in  the  work 
of  development,  than  are  the  great  volcanic  appeals  by  the  ebullitions  of 
the  world's  great  minds.  Every  individuality,  or  element  of  being,  has 
its  mission,  its  grand  destiny  to  fulfil ;  and  the  time  has  undoubtedly  ar- 
rived, when  we  should  look  with  a  more  philosophic  eye  on  the  more 
microscopic  actions  of  man,  that  we  may  leain  how  persevering  assiduity 
rears  its  temples  of  independence  and  fame.  Goodness  should  be  the 
standard  of  greatness.  He  who  battles  triumphantly  with  the  ills  of  life, 
and  excites  others  to  emulate  his  virtues,  should  be  more  honored  than 
the  conquering  Cyruses  of  a  rude  age,  or  the  warrior  exploits  of  the 
modern  Napoleons.  The  small  rills  of  human  existence  are  of  more  mo- 
ment than  the  Amazonian  floods ;  the  gentle  dews  are  more  fertilizing 
than  the  sweeping  torrents  ;  so  human  life,  in  its  truer  forms  of  develop- 
ment, partakes  more  of  the  gentle  droppings  of  benevolent  action,  than 
the  cascades  of  passion  and  display.  We  think  the  time  has  come 
when  we  should  estimate  worth  by  the  standard  of  virtue  ;  when  such  only 
should  be  considered  truly  great  who  have  manfully  exhibited  fidelity  to 
a  virtuous  life,  having  for  its  end,  not  selfish,  but  the  more  ennobling 
aspiration  of  a  common  good.     Then  we  may 

"  Leave  behind  us 


Footsteps  on  the  sands  of  time; 
Footsteps  that  perhaps  another 
Sailing  o'er  life's  solemn  main, 
A  forlorn  and  shipwrecked  brother, 
Seeing,  shall  take  heart  again." 

We  have  thus  prepared  the  way  to  introduce  the  subject  of  the  follow- 
ing memoir,  who  was  born  in  England,  May  8th,  1813,  yet  emigrated  to 
this  country  at  an  early  age,  married  here,  and  feels  strongly  attached  to 
the  institutions  of  the  country. 

In  tracing  the  genealogy  of  the  family,  it  is  found,  that  more  than  a 
century  ago,  it  consisted  of  three  brothers  then  arrived  at  the  age  of 
manhood,  the  two  elder  of  whom,  being  yet  bachelors,  emigrated  to  this 
country ;  here  they  married  and  settled,  and  became  the  progenitors  of  a 
numerous  race.  One  of  these  brothers  settled  in  Mississippi,  and  the 
other  at  Plymouth,  in  Massachusetts,  where  he  deceased  at  a  ripe  old 


276  SKETCHES    OF    EMINENT    AMERICANS. 

age ;  and  at  this  day  his  grave  is  identified,  and  the  old  homestead  held 
in  affectionate  remembrance  by  a  numerous  progeny.  Pecuniary  con- 
siderations, it  is  believed,  had  little  to  do  with  the  causes  which  induced 
these  early  emigrants  to  seek  a  home  in  the  New  World,  as  they  were 
men  of  considerable  means ;  but  that  love  of  liberty,  "  freedom  to  wor- 
ship God  "  in  a  new  continent,  opening  a  boundless  future  of  hope,  was 
the  all-inspiring  motive. 

"Not  as  the  conqueror  comes, 
They  the  true-hearted  came  ;" 

and  as  we  have  already  said,  one  of  whom  consecrated  his  life  anew,  in 
sight  of  the  rocky  shrine  which  gladdened  the  hearts  of  the  early  pil- 
grims— or  in  other  words — 

""What  sought  they  thus  afar? 
Bright  jewels  of  the  mine  ? 
The  wealth  of  seas,  the  spoils  of  war? 
They  sought  a  faith's  pure  shrine." 

And  they  found  it ;  and  like  others  of  their  times,  aided  in  bequeathing 
a  richer  legacy  to  the  future  of  man  than  ever  brightened  the  pages  of 
history. 

The  brother,  left  behind  in  England,  was  raised  to  the  ojQBce  of 
Alderman,  then  to  the  Mayoralty  of  the  ancient  borough  of  Great 
Grimsby,  a  sea-port  on  the  Lincolnshire  side  of  the  Humber.  One  of 
his  sons,  the  father  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  afterwards  honorably 
filled  the  same  office,  and  was  a  merchant  of  high  standing ;  but  in  hia 
case,  as  in  thousands  of  others,  he  found  "  riches  take  to  themselves 
wings  and  flee  away."  A  vessel,  of  which  he  was  consignee,  and  owner, 
and  laden  with  fruits  and  sulphur,  had  just  arrived  from  a  foreign 
voyage,  but  whilst  lying  at  the  dock,  with  all  her  cargo  on  board,  was 
struck  by  lightning  and  completely  destroyed.  The  policy  of  insurance 
had  expired  but  a  few  hours  previously,  and  as  a  consequence,  every- 
thing was  lost.  The  effects  from  this  blow  were  never  recovered,  and  the 
unfortunate  subject  of  it  dying  soon  afterwards,  whilst  the  subject  of  this 
memoir  was  yet  a  lad,  he  soon  found  himself  in  a  very  different  position 
in  life.  Thrown  upon  the  world,  thus  young,  in  entirely  changed  cir- 
cumstances, and  with  a  mind  naturally  sensitive,  it  may  be  better 
imagined  than  described,  how  its  cold  buffetings  affected  his  mind.  A 
few  years  had  passed  over,  and  whilst  scanning  the  prospects  of  success 
in  life  in  his  native  land,  and  seeing  how  terribly,  at  that  time,  the 
struggle  was  raging,  not  for  wealth,  but  for  bread,  he  at  once  resolved 
on  emigration,  and  determined  to  bend  all  his  energies  to  resuscitate  the 
fortune  of  which  casualty  had,  so  suddenly,  prospectively  deprived  him. 
The  resolution,  once  made,  was  speedily  put  into  execution.  By  selling  a 
small  patrimony,  he  was  enabled  to  raise  sufficient  means  to  pay  his  pas- 
sage ;  and  in  company  with  a  young  friend,  they  sailed  together  for  the 
port  of  New  York.  Here  he  found  little  diflSculty  in  procuring  employ- 
ment ;  but  after  awhile,  growing  dissatisfied  with  a  small  remuneration, 
and  prompted  by  a  desire  to  see  more  of  the  world,  he  started  for  the 


GEORGE    SIIELTON,    OF    ROCHESTER,    N.    Y.  27Y 

western  part  of  the  State.  At  tliat  time,  the  only  railroad  in  the 
country  was  from  Albany  to  Schenectady.  Leaving  the  road  at  the  latter 
place,  he  proceeded  by  canal  to  Utica,  but  by  this  time  it  had  become 
frozen,  and  the  journey  was  continued  by  stage  to  Rochester,  which 
occupied  from  Tuesday  night  to  Saturday  morning.  Thus  detained  on 
the  route,  and  being  subjected  to  heavier  expenses,  by  the  time  he  had 
reached  his  place  of  destination — wiiich  was  the  town  of  Greece,  twelve 
miles  north  of  Rochester, — the  last  penny  was  gone.  Indeed,  he  had 
the  mortification  of  paying  liis  last  copper  six  miles  short  of  the  intended 
goal ;  and  he  had  to  turn  pedestrian  for  the  latter  distance,  and  in  the 
biting  cold  transport  his  luggage  afoot.  Worn  out  with  fatigue,  solitary 
and  sad,  he  arrived  but  to  meet  with  new  disappointment.  Meeting  with 
a  friend,  however,  he  kindly  refreshed  and  solaced  him,  and  brought  him 
back  to  Rochester,  where  he  made  an  engagement  to  proceed  to  Honeoye 
Falls.  Stopping  here  a  few  months,  he  retraced  his  steps  to  the  city  of 
New  York  ;  and  by  a  seeming  providential  means  was  introduced  to  ac- 
quaintance, and  a  situation,  which  laid  the  foundation  for  his  future  pros- 
perity. Working  steadily  and  faithfully  for  several  years,  he  at  length 
married  the  daughter  of  his  employ ei:;  and  a  year  or  two  afterwards 
was  induced  to  make  an  attempt  in  mercantile  life,  in  the  very  city  of 
Rochester,  which  he  had  seen  a  few  years  before  with  so  little  of  satis- 
faction. 

Since  his  first  attempt,  which  was  in  the  year  1842,  one  steady  pro- 
gress has  marked  his  course.  The  business  thus  commenced — and  on  a 
moderate  scale— was  the  Ready-made  Clothing,  and  at  this  time  almost 
all  goods  of  the  kind  were  brought  from  New  York ;  but  Mr.  S.  soon 
perceived  the  advantage  of  turning  his  attention  to  manufacturing,  and 
in  thus  doing,  he  may  be  said  to  have  completely  revolutionized  the  trade. 
Hundreds  of  workers  were  now  employed  by  him  in  this  new  branch  of 
industry ;  new  rivalries  were  created,  each  adding  their  quota  to  the 
manufacturing  development  of  the  trade  ;  and  thus  it  progressed  by 
rapid  strides,  until  Mr.  S.  added  a  wholesale  department.  Others  soon 
followed  the  example;  and  avast  accession  was  thus  made  to  the  labor 
capital  of  the  city,  and  it  continued  to  grow,  until  at  this  time  it  may 
be  said  to  form  one  of  the  most  important  branches  of  trade  prosecuted  in 
Rochester. 

A  very  extensive  trade  is  now  carried  on,  not  only  with  all  the  sur- 
rounding country,  but  with  the  Western  and  South-Western  States. 
Indeed,  it  may  be  said,  without  fear  of  contradiction,  that,  with  rare 
exceptions,  Rochester  is  unrivalled  in  this  branch  of  manufactures,  and 
has  received  large  accessions  to  its  wealth  thereby. 

Connected  with  this  part  of  the  business,  there  sprang  up  a  large 
demand  for  all  kinds  of  piece  goods  ;  and  the  wholesale  trade  of  this  place 
is  now  immense  in  this  department  also. 

It  is  pleasing  to  find  that  perseverance  and  integrity  have  their  reward  ; 
and  that  the  one  who  first  gave  an  impetus  to  the  trade  of  this  place,  in 
the  line  of  business  above  spoken  of,  is  yet  at  its  head.  Mr.  S.'s  name 
now  heads  a  firm  of  vast  resources,  and  is  undoubtedly  one  of  the  largest 
in  Western  New  York.  But  his  acknowledged  ability  as  a  business  man, 
and  his  well  established  integrity  of  character,  were  not  suffered  to  pass 
unnoticed  by  the  public,  and  he  was  consequently  elected,  in  the  Spring 


278  SKETCHES    OF   EMINENT    AMERICANS. 

of  1852,  to  fill  the  office  of  alderman  of  the  11th  ward  of  this  city  for  two 
years. 

In  politics,  Mr.  S.  is  what  may  be  called  a  moderate  Whig ;  but  in  all 
his  actions  he  is  governed  more  by  principle  than  party.  Taking  especial 
pains  to  ascertain  the  right,  he  battles  manfully  for  the  same,  and  without 
any  truckling  subserviency  to  party  or  interest,  pursues  a  manly  and 
upright  course ;  and  by  this  means  has  secured  the  good  will  of  all  par- 
ties, among  the  better  disposed  and  appreciative  class  of  citizens. 

Mr.  S.  is  yet  in  the  middle  age  of  life,  and  having  accumulated  consi- 
derable property,  it  is  a  pleasure  to  him,  at  all  times,  to  deal  with  a  liberal 
hand.     Thoroughly  imbued  with  the  sentiment,  that — 

"  Man's  inhumanity  to  man 
Makes  countless  thousands  mourn," 

he  is  ever  ready  to  aid  the  benevolent  enterprises  of  the  day,  to  cheer  the 
distressed,  to  lighten  the  burdens  of  the  poor,  to  encourage  the  faltering, 
and  to  practically  illustrate  the  great  universal  truth,  that — 

"  Honor  and  shame  from  no  condition  rise, 
Act  well  your  part,  there  all  the  honor  lies." 

In  religious  opinions,  Mr.  S.  is  an  Episcopal  Methodist,  and  belongs  to 
the  1st  M.  E.  Church,  having,  for  a  long  series  of  years,  rendered  very 
efficient  aid  in  sustaining  and  building  up  the  society  in  this  city,  and 
otherwise  helping  forward  the  general  cause.  His  caste  of  mind  par- 
takes of  the  calm  and  hopeful,  rather  than  the  enthusiastic.  Not  given 
to  loud  professions,  or  dealing  in  pompous  declamations,  he  believes  in 
that  better  part  of  Christian  experience,  which  declares,  that  "  faith  with- 
out works  is  dead."  Indeed,  he  is  emphatically  one  of  the  "  teachers  by 
example ;"  and  in  this  respect.  Christians  of  all  denominations  would 
greatly  enhance  the  interests  of  religion  by  emulating  his  spirit. 

We  have  thus  briefly  sketched  the  career  of  a  successful  merchant, 
and  shown  to  what  laudable  ends,  honesty,  integrity,  and  perseverance 
lead.  Thus  may  we  learn,  that  the  path  of  rectitude  is  the  only  con- 
sistent course  to  pursue,  under  all  circumstances.  Petty  advantages  may 
sometimes  be  briefly  secured  by  swerving  from  a  righteous  course  ;  but 
the  substantial  good  which  brings  peace  of  mind,  as  well  as  ease  of  cir- 
cumstances, can  only  be  secured  by  uprightness  of  life,  and  a  patient, 
persevering  endurance.  Our  aims  cannot  well  be  too  high  ;  but "  the 
battle  is  not  always  to  the  strong  nor  the  race  to  the  swift."  Honorable 
wealth  brings  honorable  ease.  A  virtuous  life  points  surely  and  hope- 
fully to  a  serene  death.     Then — 

So  live  that  when  the  summons  comes  to  join 
The  innumerable  caravan  that  moves 
To  the  pale  realms  of  shade,  where  each  shall  take 
His  chamber  in  tlie  silent  halls  of  death, 
Thou  go  not,  like  the  quarry  slave  at  night 
Scourged  to  his  dungeon,  but  sustained  and  soothed 
By  an  unfaltering  trust,  approach  tliy  grave, 
Like  one  who  wraps  the  drapery  of  his  couch 
About  him,  and  lies  down  to  pleasant  dreams. 


GEORGE  SHELTON,  OF  ROCHESTER,  N.  Y,  279 

As  a  citizen,  therefore,  as  raighl;  be  expected,  our  subject  enjoys  an 
extensive  and  deserved  popularity.  Discarding  the  rivalries  excited  by- 
false  views  of  hfe  and  society,  he  pursues  the  even  tenor  of  his  way, 
aiming  only  at  those  refinements  which  have  a  tendency  to  develop  the 
man ;  to  make  his  life  valuable,  by  exerting  an  influence  for  good.  Fully 
conscious  that — 

"  Riches  have  wings,  and  grandeur  is  a  dream," 

he  eschews  the  ostentatious  dreams  and  fancies  of  a  so-called  fashionable 
life,  aiming  the  more  earnestly  to  live  a  true  life,  that  shall  create  for 
itself  a  conscious  and  imperishable  satisfaction,  that  no  reverses  can  era- 
dicate or  time  efface. 

Recognising  the  important  truth,  that  every  human  being  lives  not  for 
himself,  or  herself  alone,  but  for  the  race ;  and  that  in  the  providence  of 
God,  the  minutest  actions  of  man  must  exert  an  undying  influence,  he  is 
careful  to  manifest,  in  the  light  of  self-consciousness,  an  adherence  to 
whatever  in  life  has  a  tendency  to  elevate  its  moral  tone,  relieve  it  of  its 
burdens,  or  waft  away  a  sigh. 

As  a  husband  and  a  father,  he  displays  all  those  qualities  which  natu- 
rally spring  from  a  mind,  whose  higher  faculties  and  affections  have 
expanded  by  proper  cultivation  and  direction.  The  father  of  three 
daughters,  the  eldest  of  whom  is  now  13  years,  he  delights  to  bestow 
upon  them  every  indulgence  which  a  due  regard  to  proper  development 
can  sanction.  In  his  disciplinary  conduct,  affection  and  persuasion  take 
the  place  of  force.  Every  care  is  bestowed  to  render  home  attractive  and 
happy  ;  and  to  adorn  the  mind  with  those  imperishable  accomplishments 
which  relieve  life  of  its  tedium,  give  a  charm  to  beauty,  and  add  pleasure 
as  well  as  utility  to  the  aims  of  existence. 


'KTT  COW' 


WILLIAM   J.   RUSSELL,    OF    LAWRENCEVILLE,    GA.  281 

WILLIAM   J.  RUSSELL,  M.D., 

OF    LAWRENCEVILLE,    GWINNETT    COUNTY,    GEORGIA. 

We  often  speak  of  the  self-taught  man.  We  trace  with  earnest  atten- 
tion, and  mark  with  absorbing  interest,  each  step  of  his  progress  from 
earliest  dawn  of  intellect  to  its  meridian  glory.  In  contemplating  such 
characters,  there  is  a  constant  tendency  in  the  mind  to  contrast  the  pre- 
sent and  the  past — to  compare  what  he  is  with  what  he  was — to  look 
back  upon  the  source  whence  the  stream  sprang — and  then  upon  its 
present  wide  and  mighty  volume. 

Native  talent  struggling  with  the  dark  adversities  of  fortune,  and  rising 
superior  to  her  frown,  has  ever  commanded  the  admiration  of  the  world. 
How  many  such  have  arisen  ;  and  to  such,  how  great  the  indebtedness  of 
the  world.  Among  the  highest  in  the  temple  of  fame  are  many  names 
of  such  inscribed.  The  monuments  of  their  genius,  industry,  and  enterprise, 
meet  the  eye  in  every  land.  In  our  own  country  we  might  point  to  many 
such  enduring  memorials.  We  might  tell  of  a  Bowditch,  who,  from  the 
lowly  condition  of  a  ship-chandler's  apprentice,  becomes  the  learned  trans- 
lator and  luminous  expounder  of  Laplace,  and  takes  his  position  among 
the  first  scholars  and  mathematicians  of  the  world.  We  might  point  to 
Sherman,  the  Massachusetts  shoemaker,  the  wise  legislator,  the  learned 
judge,  and  the  invincible  patriot,  whom  Thomas  Jefferson  always  regarded 
as  his  file  leader,  "for  he  always  voted  right."  We  might  speak  of 
Patrick  Henry,  the  Virginian  orator,  the  champion  and  darling  of  the 
people — who,  without  an  aristocratic  ancestry  or  lordly  patrimony,  led  the 
van  of  that  noble  host,  who  dared  to  resist  foreign  domination,  and  resist- 
ing win  the  boon  of  his  country's  freedom.  Nay,  we  might  point  to  a 
Clay — the  mill-boy  of  the  slashes  of  Virginia — then  the  great  Kentuckian 
— the  accomplished  statesman — the  wise  and  energetic  pilot  of  the  ship 
of  state,  amid  the  turbulent  waves  of  Charybdis  and  Scylla ;  or  to  a 
Webster,  the  farmer's-boy,  who  resolved  to  be  an  actor  in  life's  drama,  and 
not  the  recorder  of  other  men's  actions.  Or  looking  abroad,  we  could  tell 
of  a  Ferguson,  the  shepherd  boy,  who  with  glowing  admiration  surveys 
the  rolling  orbs  of  heaven,  from  his  native  hills  ;  or  we  might  speak  of  a 
Brindley,  the  poor  cast-off"  child  of  an  intemperate  father,  who,  dii-ected  by 
the  force  of  native  genius,  without  education,  became  the  first  engineer 
of  his  day — and  by  constructing  the  Bi'idgewater  canal  and  other  like 
works,  revolutionized  the  inland  navigation  of  England. 

It  is  a  noble  and  inspiring  scene,  when  the  poor  and  fatherless,  break- 
ing through  the  restraints  of  indigence,  rise  to  distinction  and  usefulness 
in  society. 

Such  an  one  is  Dr.  William  James  Russell.  He  never  knew  a 
father's  care,  nor  received  a  father's  blessing,  nor  inherited  a  patri- 
monial estate.  His  father  died  some  months  antecedent  to  his  birth. 
An  orphan  from  infancy,  he  became  the  architect  of  his  own  fortunes  and 
character. 

Dr.  Russell  was  the  only  child  of  James  and  Sarah  Russell,  and  was 


282  SKETCHES    OF    EiMINENT    AMERICANS. 

born  August  24tli,  1799,  near  Concord,  Cabanus  County,  North  Carolina. 
His  paternal  ancestors  were  of  English  origin.  His  great-grandfather  emi- 
grated from  England  at  an  early  day,  and  settled  in  Pennsylvania,  near 
the  City  of  Philadelphia.  From  thence  his  grandfather,  James  Russell, 
removed  to  Cabanus  County,  North  Carolina,  during  or  near  the  close  of 
the  Revolutionary  war.  The  family  is  descended  from  the  same  original 
stock  of  the  family  of  the  present  Lord  John  Russell  of  England.  His 
mothers  maiden  name  was  McKee,  born  in  1777  ;  she  was  by  her  mother's 
side  nearly  related  to  Knox  White  of  Tennessee,  the  father  of  the  Hon. 
Hugh  L.  White,  some  time  a  distinguished  politician  of  that  state.  His 
great-o-randfather  McKee  came  from  Scotland,  probably  at  the  early 
settlement  of  the  country.  He  also  settled  in  Pennsylvania,  from  whence 
his  grandfather,  William  McKee,  emigrated  to  North  Carolina.  Such  is 
Dr.  Russell's  ancestral  stock. 

As  we  have  already  noticed,  he  was  born  in  a  state  of  orphanage, 
and  destitute  of  those  pecuniary  facilities  for  entering  successfully  upon 
the  duties  and  trials  of  life,  which  the  more  affluent  possess;  yet  young 
Russell,  impelled  by  an  ardent  and  aspiring  spirit,  and  thirsting  for  know- 
ledge and  distinction,  went  forth  in  his  fourteenth  year,  to  battle  it  with 
the  difficulties  and  adversities  of  life.  To  obtain  a  competent  education 
was  his  fixed  purpose.  Without  means,  yet  buoyant  with  hope,  he  was 
therefore  during  several  years  alternately  engaged  in  the  business  of 
teaching  and  being  taught.  The  proceeds  of  one  year's  toil  in  the  school- 
room, was  expended  the  next  in  the  prosecution  of  his  studies.  It  is  an 
undeniable  fact,  that  multitudes  of  the  most  useful  and  distinguished  men 
of  this  and  other  countries  have  trodden  the  same  thorny  path.  Wealth 
may  furnish  facilities  for  obtaining  knowledge,  but  it  cannot  impart  genius, 
nor  inspire  with  laudable  ambition  to  excel.  The  clear,  pure  atmosphere 
of  high  northern  latitudes,  can  alone  impart  that  physical  energy  to  the 
human  frame,  which  is  unknown  to  those  who  languish  beneath  a  tropical 
sun ;  so  limited  pecuniary  means,  and  unpi-opitious  circumstances,  have 
often  excited  the  mind  and  nerved  the  heart  to  higher  and  bolder  aims, 
than  those  have  ever  felt,  who  have  rolled  in  the  luxury  and  ease  of  the 
world. 

Dr.  Russell  selected  at  an  early  period,  as  his  vocation  for  life,  the  medi- 
cal profession.  And  while  he  was  yet  engaged  in  the  business  of  teach- 
ing, he  commenced  the  study  under  the  direction  of  Dr.  A.  B.  Moore, 
late  of  Spartanburgh  District,  S.  C.  About  the  close  of  the  year  1818, 
having  given  up  teaching,  he  repaired  to  his  native  state  and  county, 
and  entered  as  a  regular  student,  the  office  of  the  celebrated  Dr.  Charles 
Harris.  Here  he  continued  some  two  or  more  years,  when  he  was  taken 
into  co-partnership  by  his  instructor  in  the  practice  of  medicine.  Doctor 
Harris  giving  him  one-fourth  of  the  proceeds,  by  which  he  was  enabled 
to  defray  his  expenses,  and  still  continue  his  studies  when  not  engaged  in 
the  active  duties  of  his  profession. 

Owing  to  the  state  of  his  finances,  young  Russell  was  unable  to  proceed 
to  any  of  the  Medical  Schools,  there  being,  at  that  period,  none  more  con- 
venient than  those  of  Philadelphia  and  New  York.  Having  passed 
several  years  of  private  study  under  the  care  of  the  best  medical  instructors 
which  the  country  afforded,  and  having  seen  much  practice  in  the  depart- 


WILLIAM    J.    RUSSELL,    OF    LAWRENCEVILLE,    GA.  283 

incMit  of  both  modicine  and  surgery,  lie  determined  to  ofler  himself  at  once 
to  the  pubHc  as  a  practising  physician. 

lie  therefore,  in  the  spring  of  1821,  set  out  for  (Georgia,  in  quest  of  a 
suitable  location. 

In  June,  1821,  he  settled  in  Morgan  County;  this  was  at  that  time 
a  sickly  region,  and  therefore  he  supposed  well  suited  to  his  purpose. 
l)Ut  hardly  had  two  months  elapsed  ere  he  who  sought  to  alleviate  the  suf- 
f  lings  of  others  by  his  attention  and  skill,  was  himself  prostrated  by  the 
bilious  fever,  that  fearful  scourge  of  middle  Georgia;  and  after  a  protracted 
season  of  suffering,  and  seeing  no  prospect  of  restoration  to  health,  hut 
by  a  change  of  location  to  a  higher  and  purer  atmosphere,  concluding 
very  wisely  that  health  and  comfort  were  to  be  preferred  to  wealth  and 
disease — he  quitted  Morgan,  and  established  himself  in  Lawrence ville,  in 
1823,  the  shire  town  of  Gwinnett  county.  This  at  that  time  was  one  of 
the  new  frontier  counties  of  the  state.  Here  he  has  remained  until  the 
present  day. 

Although  a  comparatively  healthy  country,  yet  Doctor  Russell  has 
always  had  an  extensive  practice.  He  has  ever  been  regarded  as  under- 
standing the  diseases  of  the  climate  better  than  any  other  physician  in  the 
country,  and  has  been  eminently  successful  in  their  treatment. 

Possessing  great  physical  strength  and  a  fine  constitution,  he  has  been 
enabled  to  pursue  the  profession  with  less  abatement  and  fewer  seasons  of 
retirement,  on  account  of  health,  than  is  usual  with  country  physicians. 
At  all  seasons  in  heat  and  cold,  in  rain  and  snow,  by  night  and  by  day, 
he  has  been  found  at  his  post,  ready  to  respond  to  the  calls  of  distress,  for 
the  last  thirty  years.  Rich  and  poor  have  alike  shared  the  benefit  of  his 
medical  skill. .  He  is  a  man  of  great  energy  and  perseverance ;  this  is 
characteristic  of  him  in  his  business  transactions,  as  well  as  his  profession. 

It  might  be  supposed  that  he  has  accumulated  a  store  of  this  world's 
goods,  during  so  extended  a  period  of  usefulness  to  his  fellow  man, 
and  pecuniary  profit,  from  so  large  a  practice. 

Although  Dr.  Russell  possesses  a  handsome  competence,  yet  he  is  not 
so  rich  as  some  others  would  have  been,  having  his  various  advantages,  and 
lucrative  business,  with  a  less  charitable  heart.  Gwinnett  being  one 
of  the  largest  counties  of  Georgia,  a  considerable  portion  of  the  popu- 
lation is  poor,  and  consequently,  a  large  amount  of  his  professional  ser- 
vices have  been  strictly  charity  practice ;  for  he  has  ever  rendered  the 
same  attention  to  the  poor  and  the  rich,  feeling  it  his  duty,  as  well  as  the 
natural  inclination  of  a  generous,  sympathizing  disposition,  to  alleviate 
suft'ering,  whether  compensated  or  not. 

He  is  remarkable  for  his  care  and  unremitting  attention  given  to  his 
patients,  for  his  tenderness  and  faithfulness  around  the  sick  bed.  Besides, 
his  private  charities  have  been  always  liberal.  The  poor  and  needy  have 
never  been  sent  away  fi-om  his  door  empty.  Dr.  Russell  has  been  twice 
married;  the  first  time  in  1825 — the  second  time  in  1845. 

He  has  been  always  devoted  to  his  profession,  and  has  consequently 
rarely  sought  any  office  in  the  gift  of  the  people.  He  was  a  member  of 
the  State  Legislature  in  1833,  the  famous  year  of  nullification,  and  was 
elected  a  nullifier.  He  has  served  four  years  as  member  of  the  County 
Court.     With  these  exceptions,  he  has  never  consented  to  fill  any  public 


284  SKETCHES    OF   EMINENT   AMERICANS. 

oflfice.      He  has  ever  been  a  strictly  temperate  man,  having  never,  as 
himself  affirms,  drunk  a  quart  of  spirits  in  his  life. 

At  the  age  of  fifty-three,  he  is  still  engaged  in  an  extensive  practice 
throughout  the  surrounding  counties  and  villages ;  although  possessing 
ample  means  for  the  support  of  his  family,  aside  from  his  professionjJ 
income,  he  yet  feels  reluctant  to  relinquish  that  which  has  been  the  sup- 
port and  pride  of  his  life  for  so  many  years. 


SPARTA.GEORGIA.. 


ELI    H.    BAXTER,  OF    SPARTA,    GEORGIA.  285 

HON.    ELI    H.    BAXTER, 

OF    SPARTA,    GEORGIA, 

Judge  of  tlie  Superior  Court  of  the  Northern  District  of  Georgia,  is  a 
native  of  Hancock  County,  where  he  has  always  resided.  His  ancestry 
are  of  English  and  Irish  origin.  His  grandfather  living  in  North  Carolina 
at  the  commencement  of  the  war  of  Independence,  having  taken  an  early 
and  an  active  part  in  the  measures  of  resistance  to  the  encroachments  of 
Great  Britain,  was  murdered  by  the  tories  in  his  own  house.  His  son, 
Andrew  Baxter,  the  father  of  the  Judge,  at  the  age  of  seventeen  years, 
obtained  a  commission  of  lieutenancy  in  the  army,  in  which  office  he 
bore  himself  with  the  energy  and  ability  of  an  experienced  officer.  At 
the  battle  at  Camden,  having  been  taken  prisoner,  he  was  carried  to 
Charleston.  Passing  along  the  streets,  his  extreme  youth  and  fine  appear- 
ance attracted  the  notice  of  a  whig  gentleman  of  that  city,  who  managed 
secretly  to  relieve  him  in  his  necessities,  by  supplying  him  with  clothing, 
and  otherwise  mitigating  the  evils  which  military  usages  impose  upon 
prisoners  of  war,  until  he  was  released,  when  he  immediately  re-entered 
the  army. 

At  the  close  of  the  war,  Andrew  Baxter  removed  to  Hancock  County, 
Georgia.  Though  not  a  professional,  he  was  a  prominent  man  in  the 
county.  He  was  a  delegate  to  the  convention  which  formed  the  consti- 
tution of  the  state,  and  several  times  a  member  of  the  state  Legislature. 
He  died  in  1814. 

Judge  Baxter  is  the  fourth  son  of  Andrew.  Two  of  his  elder  brothers 
died  early  in  lite.  His  other  brother,  the  late  Thomas  Baxter,  Esq.,  of 
Athens,  a  man  of  great  probity  and  intelligence,  being  one  of  the  found- 
ers of  the  Georgia  Railroad,  died  in  1844.  Judge  Baxter  was  educated 
principally  in  the  school  of  the  celebrated  Dr.  Nathan  S.  S.  Beman,  of 
Mount  Zion.  At  the  age  of  seventeen  years,  he  was  removed  to  the  state 
university,  and  reached  the  senior  class ;  when  the  exercises  of  the  college 
were  suspended,  and  he  returned  to  his  home.  He  now  entered  upon 
the  study  of  the  law,  in  the  office  of  Oliver  Skinner,  Esq.,  his  brother-in- 
law,  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar,  by  special  act  of  the  Legislature,  at 
the  age  of  twenty  years.  He  married  in  1819  the  accomplished  Miss 
Julia  Richardson,  to  whom  he  is  in  a  great  degree  indebted  for  the 
success  with  which  he  has  been  able  to  overcome  all  the  difficulties  of 
life,  and  attain  his  present  position  of  eminence  and  prosperity.  He  was, 
at  the  age  of  twenty- three  years,  returned  to  the  state  Legislature,  beat- 
ing the  oldest  and  most  experienced  politicians  of  the  county.  After  a 
residence  in  town  of  four  or  five  years,  he  removed  to  his  present  resi- 
dence in  the  country,  five  miles  from  Sparta,  appropriately  termed  Cor- 
nucopia, from  the  abounding  cheer  and  hospitality  which  its  ever  open 
doors  afibrd  to  his  numerous  friends.  He  continued  being  returned  to 
the  Legislature,  but  being  then,  as  he  is  now,  one  of  the  most  modest 
and  easily  embarrassed  men  of  his  day,  he  forbore  to  take  the  promi- 
nency in  the  debates  of  the  General  Assembly  to  which  his  mind  and 
fine  speaking  talents  entitled  hirn,  until  the  session  of  1833,  when  being 


286  SKETCUES  OF  EMINENT  AMERICANS. 

in  the  Senate,  and  the  question  of  South  Carolina  nullification  being  in- 
troduced, he,  unable  to  restrain  the  expression  of  his  strenuous  opposition 
to  that  question,  entered  the  arena  of  debate,  and  delivered  a  series  of 
speeches  which  at  once  raised  him  to  the  first  rank  of  parliamentary 
speakers  in  the  state. 

The  following  year,  he  was  urgently  solicited  by  his  party,  who  were 
in  the  majority,  to  become  a  candidate  for  Congress,  but  he  steadily  and 
repeatedly  refused,  on  account  of  the  obligation  he  felt  to  provide  a  larger 
income  for  his  family.  He  returned  to  the  Legislature  in  the  year  1835, 
and  was  the  first  to  introduce  a  bill  for  the  establishment  of  a  Supreme 
Court  for  the  correction  of  errors,  a  measure,  which,  though  at  that 
time,  and  for  ten  years  afterwards,  unpopular,  has,  on  experiment,  been 
proved  so  vastly  beneficial  to  the  interests  of  the  people,  under  the  ad- 
ministration of  its  present  able  judges,  in  the  ascertainment  of  principles, 
and  the  settlement  of  vexed  questions  of  law  and  equity. 

The  prominency  which  Judge  Baxter  had  attained  as  a  political 
speaker,  and  his  great  popularity  with  the  people,  which  his  known  pro- 
bity of  character  had  secured,  suggested  him  to  his  party  in  the  year 
1839,  as  a  candidate  for  Governor  of  the  State;  but  his  unconcealed  dif- 
ference of  opinion  with  some  of  the  leading  men  upon  a  question  of 
national  policy,  and  his  known  unwillingness  to  receive  any  ofiice  which 
should  conflict  with  his  duties  at  home,  prevented  his  nomination.  No 
man  in  the  state,  of  his  character  and  talents,  ever  evinced  less  desire  for 
and  love  of  ofiice.  Holding  it  to  be  his  first  duty  to  make  the  home  of 
his  family  comfortable,  he,  though  often  urged  by  friends  more  ambitious 
for  his  reputation  than  himself,  continued  to  reject  all  ofiers  of  place, 
until  the  session  of  the  Legislature  of  1849,  when  he  became  a  candidate 
for  the  office  of  Judge  of  the  Superior  Court ;  and  the  democratic  party 
being  in  power,  he  received  the  nomination  by  a  large  majority,  and  was 
elected  ou  the  first  ballot  of  the  General  Assembly. 

The  career  of  Judge  Baxter  as  a  lawyer  has  been  rather  a  singular 
one.  He  has  never  been  a  regularly  close  student  of  the  science  of  the 
law.  The  ^'■lucubrationes  viffinti  annoruin,^^  vfhich.  Sir  John  Fortesque 
says,  are  a  necessary  preliminary  to  qualify  a  man  for  the  bench,  are  not 
anaong  the  ordeals  which  he  has  been  over.  Residing  on  his  farm  for 
the  last  twenty-five  years,  where  he  has  accumulated  a  handsome  fortune, 
he  has,  during  that  time,  had  his  law  office  in  town,  at  which,  when  at 
the  bar,  he  was  wont  to  spend  two  or  three  days  in  each  week.  He,  in 
the  outset  of  his  practice,  made  himself  well  acquainted  with  the  funda- 
mental principles  of  common  law,  which  his  strong  intellect  was  accus- 
tomed to  enforce  with  singular  ability  and  "success,  often  to  the  entire 
discomfiture  of  routine  practitioners  of  smaller  calibre,  who  were  accus- 
tomed to  rely  for  success  on  "  Those  nice  sharp  guillets  of  the  law,"  which 
the  profession  aftbrds  in  such  abounding  multiplicity.  Singularly  care- 
less in  the  preparation  of  his  cases,  and,  from  his  habitual  absence  of  mind, 
often  misplacing  his  brief,  if  he  had  made  one,  and  being  thus  thrown  on 
the  resources  of  his  mind  and  ingenuity,  he  brought,  to  the  aid  of  the 
most  difficult  questions,  an  energy  and  eloquence,  which  were  the  admi- 
ration of  the  court,  the  bar,  and  the  country.  His  opponents  at  the  bar 
were  never  sure  how  to  meet  him.  From  his  first  admission  to  the  bar, 
until  the  present  time,  he  has  ever  been  characterized  by  an  unusual 


ELI    11.    BAXTEI?,  OF    SPARTA,    GEORGIA.  287 

timidity,  and  reluctance  of  public  speaking.  Always  embarrassed  in  the 
commencement  of  causes,  he  would  yield  to  the  youngest  members  of  the 
profession  the  place  of  leading  counsel,  and  shrink  from  addressing  the 
jury  ;  but  when  compelled  by  the  solicitations  of  associate  counsel,  and 
the  desire  of  his  clients,  he  undertook  the  management  of  a  case,  the  very 
irregularity  of  the  energy  of  his  mind,  its  impatience  of  restraint  by  the 
rules  of  ordinary  controversy,  its  contemptuous  refusal  to  be  bound  by 
the  dicta  of  Nisi  Prius  judges,  and  the  vehemence  of  his  eloquence,  made 
him  one  of  the  most  formidable  competitors  in  that  numerous  company 
of  eminent  lawyers,  for  which  the  Northern  Circuit  has  ever  been  distin- 
guished. A  case  which  occurred  in  the.  spring  court  of  1848,  for  the 
County  of  Washington,  is  very  illustrative  of  Judge  Baxter's  character  as 
a  lawyer.  Retained  by  the  curators  to  the  probate  of  the  will  of  one 
Bowen,  who  had  bequeathed  his  estate  to  a  personal  friend  in  exclusion 
of  his  mother,  who  was  his  next  of  kin,  though  in  circumstances  which 
rendered  it  plain  to  the  court  that  the  will  ought  to  be  sustained,  he, 
without  any  previous  study  (being  but  an  hour  or  two  before  retained), 
assumed  the  position  that  the  testator's  total  want  of  the  recognition  of 
natural  affection  was  tantamount  to  insanity ;  and  made  one  of  the  most 
powerful  arguments  that  the  bar  had  ever  listened  to  on  any  occasion. 
The  last  twenty  minutes  of  his  speech  was  an  almost  unbroken  stream  of 
the  most  fervid  eloquence.  He  was,  however,  not  often  thus.  To  have 
been,  as  he  is,  one  of  the  very  best  orators  in  the  state,  he  has  probably 
made  fewer  speeches  than  any  of  our  public  speakers.  Except  on  extraor- 
dinary occasions,  and  when  much  excited,  he  was  wont  to  make  but 
little  effort,  and  was  not  usually  successful  in  the  attainment  of  eloquence ; 
and  his  speeches  were  far  inferior  to  those  he  made,  when,  forgetting 
himself,  and  overcoming  his  natural  timidity,  and  the  halting  of  speech 
which  that  timidity  occasioned,  he  entered  with  his  whole  mind  into  the 
argument  of  a  question  of  fact. 

As  a  jurist,  it  will  appear  from  this  brief  history,  he  failed  to  take  so 
high  a  rank  as  he  did  as  an  advocate ;  and  on  his  accession  to  the  bench, 
it  was  natural  to  expect  that  he  would  feel  great  embarrassment  at  the 
presentations  of  the  almost  innumerable  points  which  so  continually  recur 
in  the  practice  of  the  Nisi  Prius  courts.  Every  lawyer  knows  how  vex- 
ing are  the  shades  of  difference  in  points  of  pleading  and  evidence :  and 
every  Georgia  lawyer  remembers  the  "  glorious  uncertainties"  of  the  law, 
as  interpreted  by  the  eleven  distinct  tribunals  of  the  state  before  the 
establishment  of  the  Court  of  Errors.  In  those  days,  that  which  was  the 
law  in  one  county,  in  another,  perhaps  adjoining,  was  often  not  the  law; 
and  the  administration  of  justice  was  often  measured  by  about  as  accu- 
rate a  standard,  as  if  it  had  been  by  the  length  of  the  Lord  Chancellor's 
foot.  It  is  certain,  that  until  the  establishment  of  our  Appellate  Court, 
our  state  was  never  (or  rarely,  and  whenever,  it  was  by  death,  or  other 
"  act  of  God,"  and  the  vacancy  was  soon  supplied)  without  eleven  common 
law  judges,  and  eleven  chancellors,  each  independent,  "grand,  gloomy, 
and  peculiar."  These  different  forums  were  often  far  otherwise  than 
accordant  in  their  judgments ;  and  a  lawyer  who  happened  in  another 
circuit  than  his  own,  was  often  as  little  at  ease  as  would  be  a  Solicitor 
in  Chancery  in  England  at  the  Court  of  Queen's  Bench.  And  though 
our  judges  were,  generally,  men  of  talent  and  integrity,  yet,  there  being 


288  SKETCHES    OF    EMINENT    AMERICANS. 

no  appeal  from  their  judgments,  the  great  amount  of  business  in  courts, 
the  numberless  decisions  which  were  hastily  and  often  carelessly  made 
upon  all  vai-ieties  of  questions  of  law  and  equity,  destined  never  to  be 
examined,  rendered  manifold  the  "  definitions  amiss  of  land  and  property." 
Many  a  one  "  less  learned,  than  witty  ;  less  advised  than  confident ;" 
did  not  "  stick  to  add  and  alter,  to  pronounce  that  which  they  did  not 
find,  and  by  show  of  antiquity,  to  introduce  novelty."  These  were,  how- 
ever, more  the  faults  of  the  judiciary  system,  than  of  the  judges.  Had 
any  one  been  found  perfectly  competent  to  the  discharge  of  all  the  duties 
of  a  judge  and  chancellor,  without  the  necessity  of  examination  of  their 
judgments,  it  had  then  been  the  wonder, 

"  That  one  little  head  could  carry  all  he  knew." 

Such  was  the  unsettled  state  of  the  principles  and  practice  of  law 
when  Judge  Baxter  was  elected  to  the  bench,  to  correct  which,  so  early 
apparent  to  him,  he,  as  mentioned  before,  introduced  a  bill  for  the  esta- 
blishment of  our  Supreme  Court.  The  success  with  which  he  has  decided 
the  questions  thus  far  submitted  to  him,  while  it  has  been  in  the  highest 
degree  gratifying  to  his  friends,  has  already  assigned  him  a  place  among 
the  best  judges  of  the  state.  He  rarely  avails  himself  of  the  right  to 
reserve  his  judgment  for  six  months ;  but,  at  once,  upon  the  hearing  of 
the  argument,  recurring  to  the  original  principles  of  law  and  reason,  he 
delivers  his  judgment,  which  is  seldom  excepted  to,  and  more  seldom 
reversed.  This  forbearing  to  delay  justice  has  rendered  him  a  favorite 
with  the  people,  and  his  uniform  kindness  and  courtesy  without  excep- 
tion, with  the  members  of  the  bar.  Of  no  one  can  it  be  said  with  less 
truth,  that  the  "boldness  of  advocates  prevaileth  with  the  judge."  The 
youngest  and  the  oldest  of  the  profession  receive  alike  a  patient  hearing, 
and  a  respectful  consideration.  His  whole  conduct  as  a  Judge  shows 
that,  in  the  language  of  Bacon,  he  "  remembers  the  conclusion  of  the 
Roman  twelve  tables,  "  salus  populi  suprema  lex^''  and  knows  that  laws, 
"  except  they  be  in  order  to  that  end,  are  but  things  captious,  and  oracles 
not  well  inspired." 

It  is,  however,  as  a  man,  independent  of  public  station,  that  Judge 
Baxter  appears  to  the  best  advantage.  He  is  not  fond  of  ofiice,  and  his 
qualities  of  mind  and  heart  are  better  seen  in  the  easiness  of  those  pri- 
vate walks  of  life,  which  no  man,  anywhere,  has  ever  more  adorned. 
Among  all  his  virtues,  stands  first  his  unimpeached  honor.  It  is  this 
which,  together  with  his  plain  and  unaffected  love  of  mankind,  has, 
during  his  whole  Hfe,  endeared  him  to  the  people  of  his  native  country. 
He  loves  home  more  than  office.  To  make  the  former  comfortable,  he, 
in  his  young  manhood,  declined  the  flattering  ofiers  of  the  latter ;  and 
since  he  has  surrounded  that  home  with  every  appurtenance  of  comfort, 
and  the  delicate  tare  of  his  wife  and  daughters  has  added  to  it  every 
tasteful  appointment,  his  highest  satisfaction  consists  in  spending  his 
time  there  in  the  society  of  his  family,  who  are  the  pride  of  his  heart,  and 
those  friends  whom  Cornucopia  invites  to  a  participation  in  its  generous 
hospitality.  He  is  now  in  the  prime  of  life,  and  having  overcome  all  the 
embarrassments  of  his  youth,  there  is  not  to  be  found  a  happier  man 
His  term  of  office  will  expire  next  year.  It  is  understood  that  he  will 
not  be  a  candidate  for  re-election  ;  with  the  past  so  secure,  he  may  almost 
see  the  future  of  honor  and  prosperity. 


'^'^"'^  irJ.C.Bnure  fefflx3-Qa«»«tt' 


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Snymy^xi^rJBufr^hiaalSksCahe!  ifSinmni^Ka 


JOHN  F.  MOUELAND,  OF  HEARD  COUNTY,  GEORGIA.       280 

JOHN  F.  MORELAND,  M.D., 

OF  HEARD  COUNXy,  GEORGIA. 

"  A  wise  phj'sieian,  skilled  our  wounds  to  heal, 
Is  more  than  armies  to  the  public  weal." 

— Uiad. 

The  Iliad  abounds  with  proofs  of  some  knowledge  of  surgical  remedies, 
and  particularly  for  wounds,  which  were  treated  by  bathing,  with  tepid 
water,  cleansing  them  by  suction,  and  by  lenitive  cataplasms,  to  assuage 
pain  and  allay  inflammation.     Thus — 

"  Patroclus  cuts  the  forked  steel  away, 
Then  in  his  hand  a  bitter  root  he  bruis'd, 
Tlie  wound  he  wasli'd,  the  styptic  juice  infus'd  ; 
The  closing  flesh  that  instant  seem'd  to  glow, 
The  wound  to  torture,  and  the  blood  to  flow." 

— Uiad. 

It  can  hardly  be  supposed  that  uninterrupted  health  was  ever  among 
the  happy  privileges  of  the  human  family,  and  mankind,  always  liable  to 
accidents  and  diseases,  would  naturally  seek  the  measures  of  mitigation  or 
reUef.  The  rudest  tribes  of  savages  are  found  accordingly  to  have  their 
remedies  and  modes  of  cure,  often  rasli,  violent,  and  injudicious,  though 
sometimes  discriminated  wdth  precision,  and  adapted  with  dexterity  and 
skill. 

Medicine,  anterior  to  the  civilization  of  Greece,  presents  a  dreary  waste, 
containing  but  little  to  excite  cm'iosity,  or  reward  the  trouble  of  research. 
Though  in  Egypt  it  had  been  previously  cultivated,  it  does  not  seem  to 
have  particijiated,  to  any  extent,  in  the  general  improvement  of  the  arte 
and  sciences,  or  to  have  kept  pace  with  the  polish  and  refinement  of  that 
country.  Confided  entirely  to  the  care  of  their  priests,  it  was  taught  and 
practised  only  by  them,  who  mixed  with  it  the  gTOSsest  superstitions,  and 
subjected  it  to  regulations  of  the  most  pernicious  tendency,  crippling  it 
in  its  infancy,  and  precluding  all  further  growth  or  advancement.  AVe 
allude  here  to  certain  ordinances,  among  which  was  one  entailing  tlie  pro- 
fession on  the  eldest  son  as  an  inheritance,  and  another,  fixing  the  tini'? 
for  the  application  of  remedies  in  all  diseases  without  discrimination,  pro- 
hibiting any  new  observation  or  experiment,  or  innovation  in  any  respect. 
The  stream  of  science,  otherwise  so  rapid,  thus  inevitably  became  stagnant, 
and  as  not  to  advance  in  knowledge  is  to  recede,  we  must  presume  that 
under  such  circumstances  the  condition  of  medicine  rather  deteriorated 
than  improved. 

By  the  most  ancient  of  historians,  we  are  told  of  a  custom  which 
prevailed  among  the  Chaldeans  and  Babylonians,  in  which  is  to  be  traced 
probably  the  earliest  attempt  to  collect  a  Materia  Medica.  The  sick  were 
exposed  in  places  of  public  resort  on  the  highways  and  in  markets,  so 
that  travellers  and  other  persons  might  communicate  to  them  the  means  of 
cure  which  had  been  successfully  used  in  similar  cases.     It  is  even  said 

VOL.  m.  19 


290  SKETCHES    OF    EMINENT    AMERICANS. 

^hat  every  one  passing  by  was  obliged  by  law  to  give  some  ad\nce  about 
iach  disease,  and  to  recommend  some  remedy. 

The  first  regular  record  of  medicine  was  kept  in  tbe  temples  of 
Esculapius,  in  Greece,  where  diseases  and  remedies  were  engraven  on 
durable  tal>lets,  and  from  this  it  is  usual  to  date  the  dawn  of  what  may  be 
vonsidered  Medical  Science.  Not,  indeed,  however,  until  the  appearance 
of  that  illustrious  character,  on  whom  posterity,  by  common  consent,  has 
bestowed  the  enviable  title  of  "  Father  of  Medicine,"  does  the  subject 
assume  a  shape  so  definite  as  to  excite  any  lively  interest,  or  to  merit 
much  attention.  Endowed  with  a  genius,  vigorous  and  original,  he 
cleared  the  profession  of  the  incongruities  of  empiricism,  and  gave  it  some 
of  the  order  and  perspicuity  of  scientific  arrangement. 

At  no  distant  interval  of  time  came  Galen,  one  of  the  most  remarkable 
characters  whom  the  science  of  medicine  has  produced,  whether  we  regard 
the  extent  of  his  learning,  or  the  universality  of  the  homage  which  he 
commanded.  During  thirteen  hundred  years  his  opinions  were  received 
as  oracular  authority  wherever  medicine  was  cultivated. 

Medicine  moved  on  in  a  devious  career  till  about  the  middle  of  the 
fifteenth  century,  when  it  underwent  a  revolution  which  had  considerable 
influence  in  changing  it  ultimately  for  the  better.  At  the  period  alluded 
to,  medical  knowledge  in  Europe  was  wholly  borrowed  from  the  Arabians. 
But  on  the  conquest  of  Constantinople,  the  last  Hngcring  monument  of 
imperial  grandeur,  many  of  the  erudite  Greeks  fled  into  Italy,  and  carried 
with  them  the  ancient  writings  ;  the  sciences  seeming  now  in  decrepitude 
to  cling  to  a  people  for  protection  by  whom  they  had  been  nurtured  with 
such  devotion  in  their  infancy.  Thus  taking  root,  medicine  gradually 
revived  and  spread  throughout  Europe,  very  much,  in  the  first  instance, 
through  the  instrumentality  of  the  Jews,  w^ho  at  that  time  had  more  of 
international  communication  than  any  other  description  of  persons,  and 
made  it  equally  subservient  to  the  extension  of  trade,  and  diff'usion  of  liberal 
knowledge.  Conversant  Avith  the  oriental  languages,  their  medical  men 
possessed  the  exclusive  advantage  of  reading  Hij^pocrates,  Galen,  and  other 
ancient  authorities,  through  the  Arabic  and  Syriac  translations,  in  which 
those  writings  were  only  to  be  found — a  circumstance  that  conferred  on 
them  a  vast  superiority  of  skill  and  regular  science.  After  a  severe 
struggle,  the  doctrines  of  Galen  regained  their  former  ascendency,  which, 
however,  did  not  long  endure,  being  destined  to  fall  under  the  formidable 
attacks  of  the  chemists.  In  this  contest  the  leader  on  the  part  of  the 
opposition  was  the  celebrated  Paracelsus.  Destitute  of  regular  learning, 
he  possessed  that  sort  of  audacious  genius  which  is  peculiarly  calculated  to 
sap  the  foundation  of  existing  systems,  and  to  prepare  the  way  for  the 
reception  of  unexpected  innovations.  Elected  to  the  professorship  of 
chemistry  by  the  magistracy  of  Basil,  the  first  instituted  in  Europe  for 
teaching  of  that  science,  among  the  earhest  of  his  proceedings  was  to  burn, 
while  seated  in  his  chair,  with  the  utmost  solemnity,  the  writings  of  Galen 
and  Avicenna,  declaring  to  his  audience  that  if  "  God  would  not  impart 
the  secrets  of  physic,  it  was  not  only  allowable,  but  even  justifiable,  to  con- 
sult the  devil."  Beyond  measure  arrogant  and  vain,  he  treated  his 
contemporaries  with  the  same  insolence  ;  and  in  the  preface  to  his  work 
entitled  "  Paragranum,"  tells  them  that  "  the  very  down  of  his  bald  pate 
had  more  knowledge  than  all  their  writers,  the  buckles  of  his  shoes  more 


JOHN  F.  MORELAND,  OF  HEARD  COUNTY,  GEORGIA.       291 

learning  than  Galen  and  Aviconna,  and  his  beard  more  experience  than  all 
their  universities."  Despising,  or  ati'ecting  to  despise,  all  which  he  did  not 
himself  possess,  on  another  occasion,  he  cried  out  with  a  frantic  voice — 
"Away  with  Latin,  Greek,  and  Hebrew."  As  might  be  reasonably 
supposed,  he  could  not,  with  such  a  temper,  long  retain  his  situation,  and 
being  driven  out  of  it  by  a  quarrel  with  those  who  had  conferred  the 
appointment,  he  rambled  about  the  country,  generally  intoxicated,  seldom 
changing  his  clothes,  or  even  going  to  bed,  presenting  the  spectacle 
of  squalidness  and  phrensy.  Boasting  to  the  last  of  having  a  panacea 
which  cured  all  diseases  in  an  instant,  and  even  was  capable  of  prolong- 
ing life  to  an  indefinite  length,  this  drunkard  and  prince  of  empirics,  "the 
greatest  fool  of  physicians,  and  the  greatest  physician  of  fools,"  died  after 
a  few  hours'  illness,  in  the  forty-eighth  year  of  his  age,  at  Saltzburg,  with 
a  bottle  of  his  immortal  Catholicon  in  his  pocket. 

In  speculating  on  the  cause  of  the  successful  career  of  this  medical 
fanatic,  we  cannot  be  embarrassed.  Consulting  the  history  of  the  pro- 
fession of  medicine,  we  shall  find  that  practitioners  who  pursue  the 
"noiseless  tenor  of  their  way,"  whatever  be  their  claims,  move  on  slowly 
without  notice,  and  for  a  time  advance  neither  to  fame  or  fortune. 

It  belongs  to  the  multitude  to  delight  in  the  wonderful,  and  to  embrace 
with  eagerness  the  marvellous  and  extraordinary.  The  glorious  orb 
which  steadily  dispenses  light  and  heat  and  life,  is  to  them  an  object  of 
less  curiosity  and  attraction  than  the  blazing  comet  in  its  eccentric  course 
shaking  down  its  pestiferous  influence.  The  reflection,  however,  is  no 
less  true  than  pleasant  to  the  unostentatious  physician,  and  is  attested  by 
all  experience,  that  solid  reputation  and  permanent  success  in  medicine, 
as  in  other  pursuits,  are  the  rewards  only  of  superior  merit  and  unusual 
acquisitions. 

About  this  time  lived  Sylvius,  a  bold  and  ingenious  leader  of  a  sect 
who  advocated  a  theory  of  fever  which  supposed  it  to  be  an  etfort  of 
nature  to  concoct  and  throw  out  of  the  body,  matters  vexing  its  economy 
or  in  any  way  unfriendly  to  its  healthy  condition.  As  a  corollary  from 
these  premises,  lie  maintained  that  perspiration  is  a  natural  and  elficient 
process  of  cure  in  all  such  affectio'ns,  and  conforming  his  practice  to  his 
speculative  notions,  the  most  heating  and  stimulating  diaphoretics  were 
often  employed  without  the  slightest  regard  to  the  inflammatory  nature 
of  the  case.  It  was  reserved  for  Sydenham,  who  with  propriety  has  been 
called  the  "  legitimate  descendant  of  the  Coan  sage,"  to  discern  and 
expose  the  fatal  tendency  of  such  a  system,  the  devastating  effects  of 
which  Europe  felt  for  years.  Contemporary  or  nearly  so  with  these 
events  was  the  discovery  of  the  circulation  of  the  blood,  which  imparted 
a  vigorous  impulse  to  medicine,  and  changed  very  materially  its  charac- 
ter and  aspect,  and  from  this  time  on  until  the  dawn  of  the  eighteenth 
century  the  world,  medically  speaking,  made  but  little  if  any  advance, 
which  we  can  now  appreciate.  Then  several  distinguished  characters — 
Stahl,  Boerhaave,  Hofiraan,  and  Brown — arose  to  subvert  the  authority 
of  their  predecessors,  and  to  share  the  empire  of  medicine.  Each  of 
their  theories  in  its  turn  found  favor  with  many  of  the  people,  and  was 
the  direct  means  of  developing  many  very  valuable  remedial  agents, 
thereby  enriching  the  science  of  medicine.  It  could  hardly  be  supposed, 
with  the  great  impetus  which  had  now  been  given  to  the  medical  world, 


292  SKETCHES    OF   EMINENT   AMERICANS-    ' 

it  could  do  otherwise  than  to  rapidly  advance  its  onward  march  to  still 
greater  and  greater  successes.  The  present  century  is  now  teeming 
with  good,  wise,  and  great  medical  men,  learned,  eloquent,  and  influen- 
tial medical  men,  and  therefore  the  science  of  medicine  can  never  slum- 
ber again,  but  its  progress  will  be  onward, — fully  commensurate,  we 
apprehend  with  the  progress  of  any  other  science. 

The  foregoing  synopsis  of  the  rise  and  progress  of  the  "  Elementa 
Medicinse"  up  to  the  days  of  Boerhaave  and  others,  we  are  aware  is  very 
imperfect,  but  to  the  extent  it  goes  is  substantially  correct.  We  must 
acknowledge  our  indebtedness  to  the  researches  of  the  late  lamented 
Professor  Nathaniel  Chapman  and  to  the  Paris  Pharmacologia. 

Dr.  John  Fletcher  Moreland  was  born  in  Putnam  County,  Georgia, 
on  the  20th  day  of  March,  1817,  and  is  now  in  the  thirty  seventh  year 
of  his  age.  He  is  the  second  son  of  the  late  Rev.  Isaac  Tucker  More- 
land,  a  Methodist  Episcopal  Clergyman  of  solid  reputation,  and  a  very 
systematic  and  successful  farmer,  who  removed  from  Putnam  to  Jones 
County  when  Dr.  M.  was  quite  young,  and  lived  there  until  the  time  of 
his  death  in  1846.  He  was  a  native  of  Virginia,  Dinwiddle  County,  and 
was  brought  to  Georgia  when  quite  young.  His  mother,  Mrs.  Penelope 
Moreland,  since  the  decease  of  his  father,  has  removed  to  Coweta  County, 
near  him,  and  settled  on  a  farm  he  bought  and  had  improved  expressly 
for  her  use. 

Dr.  Moreland  commenced  going  to  school  in  the  sixth  year  of  his  age, 
and  what  may  be  considered  remarkable,  learned  every  letter  of  the 
alphabet  the  first  day.  There  was  for  a  number  of  years,  commencing 
about  this  period,  a  flourishing  school  in  the  neighborhood  of  his  father's, 
and  for  seven  years  in  succession  he  was  a  constant  scholar,  and  made 
unusually  rapid  progress  in  all  the  elementary  branches  of  English  Litera- 
ture. His  greatest  traits  of  ajititude  were  in  memorizing  Avith  remark- 
able facility,  and  in  his  powers  of  casting  figures,  and  in  mathematics 
generally.  There  are  perhaps  but  few  persons  living  now  who  can  half 
equal  him  in  the  rapidity  of  calculations. 

From  the  time  he  was  thirteen  years  of  age  until  he  was  sixteen,  at 
which  time  he  left  ofi"  going  to  school  altogether,  he  was  sent  to  popular 
boarding  schools,  in  which  he  was  employed  mostly  in  the  study  of  the 
languages,  and  the  higher  branches  of  mathematics.  When  he  left  school 
he  was  regarded  as  a  young  man  of  very  extraordinary  literary  qualifica- 
tions. It  was  even  feared  by  some  of  his  best  friends  that  he  had  a 
precocity  of  intellect  which  might  prejudice  his  future  progress  as  a  scho- 
lar. It  is  generally  thought  that  very  great  precocity  of  intellect 
presages  a  want  of  duration.  Developments  that  are  premature  are  not 
likely  to  be  so  well  proportioned  and  so  well  balanced  as  such  as  come 
properly  within  the  purview  of  philosophy.  "  There  is  a  time  to  all 
things,"  and  within  the  boundaries  of  their  appropriate  spheres,  all  things 
work  right,  and  carry  with  them  the  harmonious  elements  of  their  own 
economy  and  continued  existence.  It  is  but  due  to  fi-ankness  to  remark 
that  the  apprehensions  of  his  friends  were  not  without  some  real  founda- 
tion, as  has  been  verified  by  the  rust  in  his  literary  character  since  the 
extraordinary  polish  of  his  schoolboy  days  passed  by.  His  prospects  then 
augured  great  profundity  of  scholarshij)  at  a  more  mature  age.  He  is 
now  an  excellent  scholar,  with  a  diversity  of  business  qualifications,  but 


JOHN  F.  MORELAND,  OF  HEARD  COUNTV,  GEORGIA.        293 

liis  brilliancy  ia  the  classics  and  mathematics  has  been  dimmed  instead 
of  aug'meuted  since  the  days  of  his  boyhood.  Appi'opriately,  however, 
we  may  venture  the  apology  that  this  has  been  the  result  more  of  a  rigid 
devotion  to  the  practical  duties  of  a  professional  life,  than  to  any  negative 
of  capacity — to  any  disqualilicatiou  or  contraction  of  mental  calibre. 

If  we  may  be  allowed  to  borrow  from  the  dialect  of  phrenologists, 
Dr.  M.  had,  from  the  earliest  days  of  his  boyhood,  the  organs  of  cautious- 
ness, approbativeness,  and  calculation,  very  large.  He  was  very  obedient 
to  his  teachers,  and  always  manifested  great  anxiety  to  please  them.  By 
this  means,  he  was  popular  with  them,  and  escaped  even  the  first  reproof 
during  the  whole  time  of  his  pupilage.  It  may  not  be  out  of  place  here 
to  state  that  at  a  subsequent  period  of  his  life,  while  he  Avas  a  student  of 
the  Medical  College  of  South  Carolina,  he  overheard  a  distinguished 
lecturer  on  phrenology  remark  to  the  demonstrator  of  anatomy,  in  the 
dissecting  room  one  day,  that  that  young  man  (pointing  to  himself)  cer- 
tainly had  the  organs  of  cautiousness  and  calculation  unusually  developed. 

At  the  ti[ne  that  Dr.  M.  left  off  going  to  school,  he  was  exceedingly 
anxious  to  go  to  FrankHn  College,  but  on  begging  his  father  on  this 
point,  and  even  importuning  him,  he  was  affectionately  reminded  that 
he  had  a  goodly  number  of  l:>i-olhers  and  sisters,  and  a  reasonable  prospect 
for  more,  and  as  his  father  did  not  feel  able  to  give  all  his  children  a  col- 
legiate education,  and  had  adopted  a  system  of  rigid  impartiality  towards 
them  in  point  of  opportunities  for  learning.  Dr.  M.  appreciated  the  force 
of  his  arguments  and  cheerfully  submitted.  His  father  then  proposed  to 
him,  that  if  he  felt  disposed  to  engage  in  the  study  of  medicine,  for  which 
he  had  manifested  an  early  predilection,  he  would  advance  him  money  on 
the  score  of  his  eventual  legacy ;  to  which  he  consented,  and  immediately 
afterwards  engaged  in  the  study  of  medicine.  He  first  commenced  the 
study  of  anatomy,  and  notwithstanding  it  is  generally  admitted  that  ana- 
tomy must  be  learned  in  the  dissecting-room,  and  that  it  is  only  there, 
aided  by  competent  teachers,  the  student  can  acquire  such  information  in 
this  branch  of  studies  as  will  be  practically  useful  to  him.  Dr.  M.  under- 
took, and  did  memorize  verbatim  or  nearly  so,  within  the  course  of  his 
seventeenth  year,  the  answers  to  nearlv  three  thousand  questions  (and 
wrote  them  down  afterwards  from  memory)  as  proposed  in  a  book  of  two 
volumes,  entitled  Anatomical  Examinations,  being  a  complete  series  of 
Anatomical  Questions  with  Answers,  printed  for  Edward  Earle  &  Co., 
Philadelphia,  in  the  year  1811,  and  intended  as  preparatory  to  examina- 
tions at  Surgeons'  Hall.  How  far  he  was  benefited  by  this  extraordmary 
task  imposed  upon  his  powers  of  memory,  or  whether  or  not  his  time 
might  not  have  been  employed  more  profitably,  it  is  not  now  even  neces- 
sary to  inquire ;  but  as  theoretical  anatomy  is  generally  considered  an  in- 
sipid and  uninviting  study,  to  the  early  student  of  medicine,  we  can  rea- 
sonably deduce  the  fact,  that  his  aptitude  of  memory  was  certainly  remark- 
able at  that  time. 

In  his  eighteenth  and  twentieth  years,  he  mixed  teaching  of  school 
with  the  study  of  medicine,  for  the  benefit  particularly  of  his  younger  bro- 
thers and  sisters.  He  taught  school  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  his 
father's,  and  in  the  very  academy  where  he  first  learned  his  alphabet. 
Although  the  double  task  of  teaching  school  and  reading  medicine  came 
well  nigh  undermining  liis  health  for  ever,  yet  he  now  regards  his  school-  ^ 


294  SKETCHES    OF    EMINENT    AMERICANS. 

teaching  at  that  time,  even  under  the  circumstances,  as  having  been  of 
inestimable  value  to  him.  In  many  respects  he  is  sensible  of  having  real- 
ized a  verification  of  the  adage  of  the  lamented  Wirt,  that  "teaching 
teaches ;  and  by  giving,  we  receive."  During  the  five  years  in  which  he 
was  en^ao-ed  in  reading  medicine  and  attending  lectures  in  college,  he  was 
in  the  constant  habit  of  taking  such  extensive  notes  that  he  collected  an 
immense  mass  of  manuscripts,  and  flattered  himself  at  that  time,  that  he 
was  preparing  for  himself  a  substantial  preface  towards  becoming  an  author 
of  distino-uished  reputation  in  subsequent  life ;  but  as  time  rolled  on  and 
his  mind  became  absorbed  in  the  practical  duties  of  a  country  physician's 
life,  he  yielded  to  a  strong  presentiment  of  incompetency  towards  success, 
and  thus  abandoned  his  golden  visions  of  becoming  a  distinguished  author 
on  any  subject ;  and  now  feels  a  reasonable  degree  of  contentment  while 
consoling  himself  that  he  has  done  the  best  he  could  under  all  the  circum- 
stances, and  indulging  the  hope  that  his  future  life  may  be  crowned  with 
a  still  more  favorable  retrospect  by  way  of  having  increased  his  capacity 
for,  and  inclination  towards  doing  more  good.  Having  thus  continued  to 
prosecute  the  study  of  medicine  with  great  avidity,  and  having  availed 
himself  of  all  the  facihties  he  could  command,  until  after  his  majority,  he 
then  located  himself  at  a  little  place  called  Long  Cane,  in  Troup  County, 
for  the  purpose  of  practising  medicine.  This  was  in  July,  1838.  He  re- 
mained there  for  twelve  months,  during  which  time  he  was  patronized  as 
liberally,  and  perhaps  more  so,  than  he  might  reasonably  have  expected, 
but  owing  to  the  very  limited  condition  of  his  finances  in  connexion  with 
his  anxiety  to  find  a  "  better  location"  he  removed  to  the  village  of  Co- 
rinth, Heard  County,  in  the  summer  of  1839,  Avhere  he  has  resided  ever 
since. 

(Corinth  is  a  small  village  in  the  south-east  corner  of  Heard  County, 
not  more  than  half  a  mile  from  the  county  lines  of  Troup  and  Coweta, 
and  its  population  does  not  exceed  three  hundred.  It  is  located  in  a  sec- 
tion of  fine  farming  lands,  and  its  citizens  generally  are  very  intelligent 
and  thrifty.) 

Of  Dr.  M.'s  character  as  a  physician,  within  the  limits  at  least  of  his 
circle  of  practice  for  the  last  fourteen  years — and  of  his  exemplary  de- 
portment in  his  professional  intercourse  with,  and  courtesy  towards  his 
neighboring  physicians,  in  securing  their  fraternal  regard,  and  exalted 
appreciation  of  his  talents  and  skill — language  could  scarcely  be  used  to 
express  an  exaggerated  commendation.  Having  been  raised  in  the  coun- 
try, and  having  always  lived  in  the  country,  Dr.  M.  has  acquired  from 
habit  such  a  partiality  for  the  manners  and  customs  of  the  countiy  people, 
that  he  anticipates  a  reluctance  in  his  feelings,  almost  insurmountable,  to- 
wards changing  his  associations,  even  if  he  should  ever  be  surrounded  by 
circumstances  making  it  palpably  right  and  proper  that  he  should  seek 
the  society  incident  to  a  city  life. 

In  a  country  practice,  the  physician  generally  becomes  intimately  ac- 
quainted with  every  member  of  the  families  in  which  he  practises,  includ- 
ing even  the  domestics. 

He  enters  into  their  companionship,  and  while  he  has  thus  afforded 
him  the  most  favorable  opportunities  for  learning  their  characters,  dispo- 
sitions, &c.,  they  too  are  apt  to  form  an  estimate  of  what  they  conceive 
to  be  his  merit ;  and  after  a  trial  for  years  in  succession,  the  award  given 


JOHN  F.  MORELAND,  OF  HEARD  COUNTY,  GEORGIA.       295 

by  his  intelligent  patrons  is  almost  certainly  correct.  It  is  within  the 
compass  of  our  observation  that  our  most  successful  country  practi- 
tioners are  those  who  fill  the  double  office  of  physicians  and  nurses, 
especially  in  the  treatment  of  critical  cases;  and  a  mere  prescription  to 
be  filled  out  by  a  second  person,  could  hardly  be  appreciated  by  one  out 
of  ten  of  country  people  generally.  Dr.  M.  has  been  well  sustained  in 
his  professional  career  where  he  now  lives  by  responsible  and  prompt 
patrons.  He  has  therefore  never  had  occasion  to  reproach  them  as  An- 
axagoras  did  Pericles,  when  he  said  to  him,  "  Those  who  need  the  light 
of  a  lamp  take  care  to  feed  it  with  oil."  Unlike  the  worthy  but  ill-fated 
Anaxagoras,  who  covered  his  head  as  the  insignium  of  neglected  poverty 
and  a  determination  to  die  by  starvation.  Dr.  M.  has  been  the  more  for- 
tunate by  accumulating  a  very  handsome  property.  We  think.it  may 
be  laid  down  as  a  general  rule,  that  whenever  a  country  physician  grows 
in  the  affections  of  the  people  as  year  succeeds  year,  he  must  possess  a 
great  deal  of  intrinsic  merit,  and  by  way  of  contrast  upon  this  point, 
according  to  the  authority  of  Dr.  Johnson,  his  position  might  well  be 
envied  by  many  meritorious  physicians  in  great  cities.  "  A  physician," 
says  Dr.  Johnson,  "  in  a  great  city  seems  to  be  the  mere  plaything  of 
fortune,  his  degree  of  reputation  is  for  the  most  part  totally  casual,  those 
that  employ  him  know  not  his  excellence,  they  that  reject  him  know  not 
his  deficience."  These  are  the  observations  of  one  distinguished  as  a 
moralist,  who  lived  in  a  large  metropolis,  and  without  doubt  embody 
much  truth.  If  the  scientific  do  not  always  become  popular,  they  are 
always  respected  in  the  circle  in  which  they  move,  and  are  most  beloved 
where  best  known.  It  is  their  province  to  seek  the  estimation  and  con- 
fidence of  thoae  who  can  justly  appreciate  them,  and  it  is  equally  clear 
that  they  should  value  their  character  as  above  all  price. 

We  may  here  with  propriety  remark  that  there  is  perhaps  no  depart- 
ment of  knowledge  where  opinions  of  doctrine  and  practice  are  more 
contradictory  than  in  the  medical,  and  hence,  if  the  satirist  has  often 
railed  at  the  "  glorious  uncertainty  of  the  law,"  medicine  has  shared  no 
better  fate.  They  both  rest  upon  the  science,  the  knowledge,  the  prac- 
tical good  sense,  the  comprehensive  view,  and  the  discriminating  and 
analytical  powers  of  those  who  pursue  them,  and  hence  upon  these  their 
beneficial  or  pernicious  influence  depends. 

Theorists  and  enthusiasts,  full  of  wild  speculations,  are  found  in  both, 
and  yet  the  value  and  necessity  of  each  is  constantly  felt  and  required. 
In  medicine,  we  have  had  in  all  ages  two  extremes — one  class,  who  are 
speculative  theorists  endowed  with  great  genius  and  enthusiasm,  who 
with  a  noble  zeal  hope  to  raise  a  system  which  will  supersede  all  others, 
and  accomplish  all  that  is  desired.  Although  led  into  many  extrava- 
gances and  many  inaccuracies,  their  labors  have  not  been  in  vain.  They 
have  added  something  to  the  stock  of  general  knowledge.  We  have 
others  again,  on  the  other  hand,  of  plain  common  practical  sense,  who, 
averse  to  all  systems  of  speculation,  rest  alone  upon  minute  observation 
and  practical  experience.  They  are  often  led  into  equally  erroneous 
opinions.  They  are  always  limited  in  their  views,  and  too  frequently  un- 
discriminating  in  their  practice.  But  yet  they  have  accumulated  in  de- 
tail much  useful  and  valuable  knowledge.  Dr.  M.  occupies  a  medium 
position, — and  as  we  conceive,  the  desideratum  lies  between  the  two. 


296  SKETCHES    OF    EMINENT    AMERICANS. 

The  acquirement  of  this  depends  upon  the  capability  of  the  physician  to 
view  with  calmness,  and  patiently  analyse  and  test  both  theories  and 
practical  observation.  He  must  bear  in  mind  that  medicine  can  never 
be  ranked  among  the  exact  sciences.  He  must  bring  to  his  aid  all  the 
lights  which  are  afforded  him,  reflect  upon  the  causes  which  continually 
modify  disease,  inquire  into  the  character,  habits,  temperament,  age,  and 
the  peculiar  condition  of  the  organization  which  set  at  defiance  any 
fixed  and  unerring  rules  of  practice. 

To  be  then  a  great  physician  is  like  being  a  great  judge ;  each  must 
have  all  the  knowledge  and  the  lights  afibrded,  and  a  something  beyond 
this,  a  power,  gift,  or  tact,  arising  from  sound  discrimination  and  good 
common  sense.  Such  men  have  been  most  eminent  and  practically 
useful  in  their  day  and  generation,  and  yet  they  have  catered  upon  the 
labors  of  others,  and  generally  leave  few  evidences  to  account  for  their 
reputation. 

Dr.  M.  is  personally  popular  wherever  he  is  known,  and  the  more 
intimate  the  acquaintance,  the  stronger  the  attachment.  His  strongest 
friends  are  those  who  have  known  him  the  longest.  It  has  so  happened 
that  he  has  served  on  the  Grand  Jury  almost  annually  since  his  majority, 
and  what  is  very  unusual,  with  the  exception  of  one  term,  he  has  unani- 
mously been  chosen  as  foreman.  He  has  never  thirsted  for  political  pro- 
motion, and  therefore  has  solicited  the  sufi"rages  of  his  fellow  citizens  but 
twice  in  his  life.  In  the  year  1843,  he  was  a  candidate  for  the  popular 
branch  of  the  Legislature,  but  was  defeated  by  a  small  majority  ;  and  in 
the  year  1851,  he  was  a  candidate  again  for  the  same  oflice,  and  was 
elected  by  a  handsome  majority  ;  in  which  capacity  he  served  during  the 
lasi  session  of  the  Legislature.  He  was  a  very  useful  member,  probably 
as  much  so  as  any  member  of  that  body.  He  has  himself  come  to  the 
conclusion,  however,  that  if  he  has  any  talents  for  usefulness  for  his  country, 
he  cannot  realize  from  what  little  experience  he  has  had  in  legislating 
that  they  run  in  that  channel,  and  therefore  he  has  determined  to  withhold 
himself  from  any  future  canvass  as  a  candidate  for  any  ofiice  whatever. 

On  the  sixth  of  July,  1841,  he  was  married  to  Sarah  Ann  Amoss,  the 
third  daughter  of  James  Amoss,  Esq.,  a  planter,  and  highly  respected 
citizen  of  Troup  County,  Georgia,  and  one  amongst  the  earliest  settlers 
of  that  county.  In  his  marriage  union,  he  has  had  every  reason  to 
felicitate  himself  upon  his  good  fortune  in  having  secured  an  afiectionate 
and  very  intelligent  bosom  companion.  He  has  two  children,  both 
daughters.  Aurelia  Roberta,  the  elder,  is  now  in  the  twelfth  year  of  her 
age  ;  and  Geraldine  Zenobia,  the  younger,  is  now  in  the  eighth  year  of  her 
age.     They  are  both  quite  interesting  little  girls. 

Dr.  M.  has  five  brothers  and  five  sisters.  Four  of  his  brothers  are 
successful  planters ;  and  one  of  them.  Dr.  Newdigate  A.  Moreland,  is  a 
physician  of  much  usefulness,  and  of  a  very  literary  turn  of  mind.  He 
commenced  reading  medicine  with  Dr.  M.  in  the  year  1843,  graduated 
at  Louisville  Medical  College  in  the  spring  of  1846,  and  has  been 
associated  with  him  in  the  practice  of  medicine  ever  since.  His  sisters 
have  all  married  well.  It  is  certainly  a  very  pleasant  reflection  for  us  to 
present  to  the  world  so  numerous  a  family,  all  of  whom  are  characterized 
by  intelligence,  temperance,  industry,  and  abundant  success  in  life. 

Lastly,  we  feel  that  we  should  be  derelii:t  to  duty,  as  a  faithful  bio- 


JOHN  F.  MORELAND,  OF  HEARD  COUNTY,  GEORGIA.       297 

graplier,  if  we  failed  to  record  Dr.  M.'s  religious  life  for  the  last  twenty- 
two  years,  as  the  crowning  excellence  of  his  character.  In  the  year 
1831,  when  but  fourteen  years  of  age,  he  made  a  public  profession  of 
religion,  and  coanected  himself  with  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 
It  may  be  reasonably  supposed  that  his  early  piety  saved  him  from  a  great 
many  errors  incident  to  youths  at  a  little  more  advanced  age.  He  never 
even  uttered  a  profane  expression  in  his  life.  The  real  danger  of  worldly 
intercourse  and  of  vain  amusements  consists  in  their  tendency  to  lead 
away  the  mind  from  God,  to  make  self  the  idol,  and  human  applause  the 
object  of  chief  desire  and  the  motive  to  exertion.  Dr.  M.  thus  grew  up 
to  manhood  under  influences  that  were  hallowed,  and  had,  by  timely 
instillation,  developed  within  him  ]>iinciples  of  great  purity,  which  gave 
proper  direction  to  his  mind.  Where  religious  truths  exert  their  influ- 
ence, this  will  be  had.  For  the  realization  of  our  agency,  and  the  con- 
version of  our  hearts,  will  direct  the  sold  to  other  and  nobler  objects, — 
to  higher  aims  and  more  arduous  efforts  than  selfish  natui'e  would  desire 
or  make.  They  lead  one  beyond  the  circumscribed  sphere  of  personal 
desire  to  the  extensive  field  of  obligation  and  duty.  Such  direction  will 
secure  more  than  partial  virtue,  which,  alas !  is  the  only  wages  of  many 
minds  of  great  ability  and  untiring  industry.  They  reap  the  fruits  of  their 
defective  adhesion  to  the  claims  of  the  moral  law,  of  their  delinquency  to 
God,  to  men,  and  to  virtue. 

"  Whatsoever  things  are  honest,  whatsoever  things  are  just,  whatso- 
ever things  are  pure,  whatsoever  things  are  lovely,  whatsoever  things  are 
of  good  report,"  are  the  objects  of  the  perfect  man's  thoughts  and  aims, 
and  they  throw  back  upon  the  mind  the  lustre  of  their  purity.  Atten- 
tion to  all  these  things  is  enjoined  by  Paul.  The  disputing  Greeks  would 
make  this  and  that  the  basis  of  virtue,  but  this  distinguished  Christian 
philosopher  made  it  consist  in  the  union  of  everything  excellent,  and 
taught  that  devotion  to  eveiy  particular  is  necessary  for  purity  of  charac- 
ter. On  this  point,  Socrates's  exordium  towards  instructing  the  youths 
of  Greece  is  well  worthy  of  our  high  appreciation  : — "  This  great  God," 
said  he,  "  who  has  formed  the  universe,  and  supports  this  stupendous  work, 
whose  every  part  is  finished  with  the  utmost  goodness  ancl  harmony,  he 
who  preserves  them  perpetually  in  immortal  vigor,  and  causes  them 
to  obey  him  with  a  never-failing  punctuality,  and  a  rapidity  not  to  be 
followed  by  our  imagination, — this  God  makes  himself  sufficiently  visi- 
ble by  the  endless  wonders  of  which  he  is  author,  but  continues  always 
invisible  in  himself.  Let  us  not  then  refuse  to  believe  even  what  we  do 
not  see,  and  let  us  supply  the  defects  of  our  corporeal  eyes  by  using 
those  of  the  soul ;  but  especially  let  us  learn  to  render  the  just  homage 
of  respect  and  veneration  to  the  Divinity  whose  will  it  seems  to  be,  that 
we  should  have  no  other  perception  of  him  than  by  his  benefits  vouch- 
safed to  us.  Now,  this  adoration,  this  homage,  consists  in  pleasing  him, 
and  we  can  only  please  him  in  doing  his  will."  We  can  with  equal  pro- 
priety refer  to  some  maxims  from  Cicero  : — "  That  we  ought  above  all 
things  to  be  convinced  that  there  is  a  Supreme  Being  who  presides  over 
all  the  events  of  the  world,  and  disposes  everything  as  sovereign  lord 
and  arbiter ;  that  it  is  to  him  mankind  are  indebted  for  all  the  good  they 
enjoy ;  that  he  penetrates  into  and  is  conscious  of  whatever  passes  in  the 
inmost  recesses  of  our  hearts ;  that  he  treats  the  just  and  the  impious 


298  SKETCHES    OF    EMINENT    AMERICANS. 

according  to  their  respective  merits;  that  the  true  means  of  acquiring 
his  favor,  and  of  being  pleasing  in  his  sight,  is  not  by  the  use  of  riches 
and  magniticence  in  his  worship,  but  by  presenting  him  a  heart  pure  and 
blameless,  and  by  adoring  him  with  an  unfeigned  and  profound  venera- 
tion." 

With  Dr.  M.  pure  principles  conduce  to  zeal  in  the  performance  of  his 
duty.  Let  it  be  remembered  that  zeal  is  not  so  much  the  result  of  men- 
tal temperament  as  it  is  of  proper  states  of  mind.  That  which  is  scrip- 
tural and  worthy  of  commendation  results  not  from  constitutional  ardor, 
but  from  his  love  of  purity  and  his  hate  for  its  opposite.  The  strongest 
passions  of  the  heart  afford  it  perpetual  aliment,  and  keep  it  ever  vigor- 
ous and  active.  Success  does  not  enervate  it,  nor  does  disappointment 
destroy  it.  In  the  being  of  pure  principles,  it  is  not  a  flickering  light 
but  an  imperishable  flame.  This  is  the  martyr  spirit  which  animated 
prophets,  apostles,  reformers,  and  j^atriots.  Its  triumphs  are  recorded  in 
the  history  of  the  world,  and  of  the  church.  Individuals  actuated 
by  it  cannot  but  be  distinguished  for  virtue  and  usefulness.  The  pillars 
of  society  everywhere  are  the  virtuous,  the  pious.  True,  they  may  not 
have  a  merchantable  value, — their  commercial  importance  may  not  be 
great,  their  loss  might  not  occasion  the  withdrawal  of  capital  from  the 
business  of  the  land,  yet  their  value  is  beyond  price.  Their  influence 
is  diffusive,  and  is  a  corrective  of  everything  detrimental  to  the  happi- 
ness of  man.  Whatever  tends  to  mitigate  human  woe,  to  elevate  the 
public  morals,  to  inform  the  mind,  to  improve  the  heart,  is  the  daily  work 
of  him  whose  soul  is  consecrated  to  virtue.  His  agency  deeply  felt  is 
constantly  exerted,  and,  in  the  works  he  performs,  he  exhibits  the  charac- 
ter of  his  heart, — the  nature  of  his  principles.  His  light  is  not  a 
meteoric  glare, — it  burns  brightly  and  constantly.  We  are  aware  that 
private  friendship  often  magnifies  the  virtues  of  those  we  love,  and  les- 
sens their  faults.  But  he  needs  not  the  voice  of  praise,  nor  would  it  be 
an  easy  matter  for  calumny  to  taint  his  reputation. 

In  stature,  Dr.  M.  is  tall,  being  a  little  upwards  of  six  feet  in  height. 
The  gracefulness  of  his  carriage  is  somewhat  injured  by  too  gi-eat  a 
roundness  of  his  shoulders.  His  temperament  is  bilious-nervous,  and 
with  the  exception  of  an  occasional  spell  of  melancholy,  he  is  very 
sociable,  and  makes  a  pleasant  and  highly  interesting  companion.  His 
countenance  strikingly  denotes  pleasantness  and  energy — a  combination 
of  the  "  suaviter  in  modo  "  with  the  "  fortiter  in  re."  Being  now  in  the 
vigor  of  manhood,  and  in  the  enjoyment  of  most  excellent  health,  the 
writer  of  this  sketch  anticipates  for  him  many  years  of  increasing  useful- 
ness, and,  may  he  add,  eventually  a  better  home  beyond  this  "  vale  of 
tears." 


1^7  JCSttttre  fiam  a-DagdeneotSP^ 


OF  FREZ>ERICJr ,     l/LARYLAJSTD . 


Erwnirad,for  BiograpMcat  Sixtch/a  of  Enwiait^-ii 


JAMES    M.    COALE,    OF    FllEDERICK    CITY,    MARYLAND.  299 

JAMES   M.    COALE,   ESQ., 

OF      FREDERICK      CITY,      MARYLAND, 

James  M.  Coale  was  born  in  the  town  of  Liberty,  in  Frederick  county, 
state  of  Maryland.  His  father,  Richard  Coale,  was  a  descendant  of  an 
old  Maryland  family,  the  grandson  by  the  mother's  side  of  Dr.  Stringer, 
who  came  to  Maryland,  at  an  early  jjeriod,  as  family  physician  in  the 
suite  of  one  of  the  Lords  Baltimore,  who  resided  for  a  time  in  the 
province. 

At  the  revolution,  his  family,  with  many  other  descendants  of  the-same 
ancestry,  sided  with  the  patriots,  and  bore  a  part  in  the  struggle.  The 
father  of  the  subject  of  this  memoir  served,  while  a  very  young  man, 
as  surgeon  on  board  one  of  those  small  cruisers  which  were  fitted  out 
under  the  authority  of  General  Washington,  and  whose  "  naval  exer- 
tions (says  Chief  Justice  Marshall)  were  attended  with  the  most  valua- 
ble consequences."  After  the  war,  he  abandoned  the  profession  of  medi- 
cine, and  devoted  himself  to  the  pursuit  of  agriculture  in  Frederick 
county,  amongst  the  beautiful  hills  on  the  head  waters  of  the  Liuganore. 
He  married  Catharine  McSherry  of  York,  now  Adams  county,  in  Penn- 
sylvania. 

In  the  year  1809,  the  Rev'd  John  Dubois,  on  the  foot  of  the  wild  and 
rugged  mountain  near  Emmittsburgh,  Maryland,  reared  two  log  build- 
ings, one  as  a  school-house,  the  other  as  the  residence  of  the  teachers 
and  pupils.  Ye-ar  by  year,  with  no  attraction  but  the  pure  air  of  the 
mountains,  their  evergreen  foliage,  and  never  ceasing  streams  of  water, 
his  own  energy,  and  the  energy  and  skill  of  those  associated  with  him, 
the  pious  founder  of  this  humble  school  had  seen  it  grow,  until  it  rose 
into  the  widely  known  "  College  of  Mount  St.  Mary's."  To  this  well 
disciplined  institution,  the  subject  of  this  memoir  was  committed  as  a 
pupil.  Remarkable  as  a  boy  for  perseverance  and  zeal  in  his  undertak- 
ings, young  Coale  gave  his  whole  attention  to  study  ;  and  never  failed 
to  carry  oft'  the  palm  from  his  fellow  students.  Two  examinations  were 
held  in  the  course  of  the  scholastic  year,  one  in  mid-session,  the  other  at 
the  close  of  the  year,  to  test  the  progress  of  tlie  students.  Those  who 
were  found  at  the  mid-session  too  strong  for  their  class,  were  at  once 
promoted  to  a  higher  one.  It  was  never  that  young  Coale  was  not  thus 
])romoted,  and  also  never,  that  he  did  not  carry  oft'  the  highest  honors 
of  the  new  class.  This  assiduity,  and  this  success,  together  with  his 
pleasing  manners  and  exemplary  deportment  through  his  whole  colle- 
giate course,  won  for  him  the  esteem  of  his  fellow  students,  and  the 
especial  regard  of  the  President,  the  Rev'd  Mr.  Dubois,  afterwards  Bishop 
of  New  York. 

Mr.  Coale  having  finished  his  collegiate  course,  chose  the  profession  of 
the  law  as  his  sphere  of  active  life.  He  entered  the  office  of  the  Honor- 
able Richard  Potts,  in  Frederick  City,  Maryland,  and  pursued  his  law 
studies  with  the  most  untiring  assiduity.  After  a  course  of  study  for 
three  years,  the  term  then  prescribed  by  rule  of  court,  he  qualified  as 
a  member  of  the  Frederick  Bar.      This  Bar   had  always  been  distin- 


300  SKETCHES    OF    EMINENT    AMERICANS. 

giiisbed  for  its  ability.  The  present  Chief  Justice  of  the  United  States, 
the  Honorable  Roger  B.  Taney,  had  received  his  training  as  one  of  its 
members,  and  removed  immediately  from  it  to  the  first  position  at  the 
Bar  of  Baltimore.  The  Honorable  John  Nelson,  Attorney  General  of 
the  United  States  in  Mr.  Tyler's  administration,  and  one  of  the  first 
lawyers  of  the  country,  was  a  member  of  the  Frederick  Bar  at  the  time 
of  Mr.  Coale's  admission,  and  for  some  years  afterwards.  Many  other 
gentlemen  also,  of  distinguished  ability,  had  illustrated  the  annals  of  this 
Bar,  until  it  had  acquired  great  celebrity  in  the  state.  The  late  learned 
and  accomplished  John  Buchanan,  Chief  Justice  of  the  state,  was  the 
presiding  judge  at  Frederick  County  Court,  assisted  by  his  brother,  the 
Honorable  Thomas  Buchanan,  who  when  at  the  Bar  had  ranked  with 
Pinckney  and  Wirt.  It  was  at  a  Bar  thus  distinguished,  and  before  so 
learned  a  court,  that  Mr.  Coale  began  his  professional  career.  Special 
pleading,  with  all  the  technicalities  of  practice  of  Westminster  Hall,  was 
adhered  to  with  scrupulous  professional  pride.  It  was,  therefore,  no 
easy  matter  to  practise  the  law  at  such  a  Bar.  But  Mr.  Coale  came  into 
the  profession  fully  equipped  to  perform  an  honorable  part  in  the  forensic 
arena  before  him.  With  a  manly  ambition,  he  could  not  have  desired 
the  profession  to  be  less  arduous  than  it  was;  as  he  aimed  to  be  nothing 
less  than  a  jurist.  In  a  very  few  years  he  stood  in  the  first  rank  at  the 
bar,  both  as  a  lawyer  and  an  advocate. 

Mr.  Coale  belonged,  from  the  first,  to  the  whig  party.  He  had  been 
a  diligent  student  of  ancient  and  modern  history,  and  had  studied  the 
institutions  of  his  country  under  the  light  which  the  truths  of  history 
alone  can  furnish.  He  had  learned  from  the  lessons  of  the  past,  that 
the  ancient  and  tried  ways  must  not  be  disregarded  in  politics.  That 
though  new  remedies  and  expedients  must  be  provided  for  the  emergen- 
cies of  advancing  civiHzation,  yet  they  must  ever  be  fashioned  with 
reference  to  what  has  gone  before,  as  well  as  to  what  is  to  come  to  pass. 
And  as  he  aimed  at  being  a  statesman,  and  not  a  mere  politician — pre- 
ferred his  country  to  himself — he  sought  not  political  favor ;  not  that 
he  undervalued  the  approbation  of  the  people,  but  because  he  felt  more 
satisfaction  in  serving  the  people  than  in  flattering  them.  But  notwith- 
standing this  reserve  on  the  part  of  Mr.  Coale,  his  abilities  and  his  high 
integrity  gained  for  him,  from  the  first,  the  entire  favor  of  the  party  to 
which  he  had  allied  himself.  He  was  frequently  solicited  to  become  a 
candidate  for  the  General  Assembly,  as  well  as  for  Congress,  when  he 
was  but  little  over  the  years  of  manhood.  As,  however,  the  sphere  of 
his  profession  was  more  congenial  to  his  feelings,  and  others  desired  what 
he  would  rather  avoid,  he  declined  these  invitations  to  political  prefer- 
ment. Still,  during  all  this  time,  he  participated  actively  in  politics, 
engaging  energetically  as  a  speaker  in  every  canvass. 

In  1840  Mr.  Coale  was  nominated  as  one  of  the  Electoral  candidates 
for  Harrison  and  Tyler,  of  the  state  of  Maryland.  On  Monday,  the  20th 
April  of  that  year,  the  enthusiasm  which  Mr.  Coale  had  been  chiefly 
instrumental  in  awakening,  caused  one  of  the  largest  mass  meeting-s  to 
assemble  in  Frederick  City  ever  convened  in  the  state.  The  procession 
was  of  the  most  imposing  kind.  All  those  emblems  and  symbols  of 
locr-cabins,  banners,  and  other  insignia  procured  from  no  herald's  ofiice, 
but  from  the  mountains  and  valleys  where  freemen  dwell,  which  distin- 


JAMES    M.    COALE,    OF    FREDERICK    CITi',    MARYLAND,  301 

guislied  tlie  canvass  of  1840,  were  displayed  in  the  procession  on  the 
grandest  scale.  The  old  men  who  had  heard  the  cannon  of  the  revolu- 
tion, were  confirmed  in  their  hopes  for  the  preservation  of  the  liberties 
of  their  country,  when  they  saw  in  these  homely  ensigns,  that  the  hearts 
which  beat  in  the  revolution  had  been  transmitted  from  sire  to  son. 
These  plain  badges  of  the  yeomanry  showed  that  the  great  spirit  of  the 
west  had  spread  over  the  Atlantic  border,  and  that  a  president  was  to  be 
elected  from  that  retired  position  in  life  where  freemen  always,  in  a  cri- 
sis, look  for  the  men  to  direct  their  aft'airs. 

At  this  grand  assemblage,  there  were  persons  from  all  parts  of  the 
state,  and  they  carried  home  with  them  the  enthusiasm  of  the  day.  The 
Whig  Electoral  ticket  was  successful.  When  the  Electoral  College  met 
in  Annapolis  to  cast  their  votes,  the  whigs  of  the  city  tendered  a  dinner 
to  the  electors.  The  present  distinguished  Chancellor  of  the  state,  the 
Honorable  John  Johnson,  presided  on  the  occasion.  It  had  been  ar 
ranged,  the  evening  before  the  dinner,  that  Mr.  Coale  should  respond,  in 
behalf  of  his  brother  electors  and  himself,  to  the  complimentary  toast 
When  this  toast  was  read,  Mr.  Coale  responded  in  one  of  the  happiest 
efibrts  of  oratory  ever  delivered  on  a  similar  occasion.  In  the  course 
of  his  remarks,  he  said :  "  The  present  dynasty,  at  the  very  outset  of 
their  power,  sold  themselves  to  the  demon  of  overthrow,  and  upon  the 
same  terms  that  such  bargains  are  usually  made  in  fabulous  story — that 
the  spirit  should  toil  for  a  season  in  their  service,  and  that  finally  they 
should  become  its  victims.  The  terms  of  the  compact  have  been  ful 
filled  on  both  sides.  Their  power  is  at  an  end  !  It  has  ended  as  all 
systems  of  outrage  naturally  terminate,  not  by  a  gentle  and  natural 
decay,  but  suddenly,  and  beneath  the  crushing  weight  of  the  avalanche 
Yesterday,  and  the  nation  presented  a  spectacle  of  ice-bound  uniformity 
and  devotion  to  power.  To-day,  the  spirit  of  the  thaw  has  breathed 
upon  it,  and  the  earth  is  unbound  again,  and  the  people  are  free."  Mr, 
Coale  then  expatiated  upon  the  questions  involved  in  the  verdict  of  the 
people  against  the  administration  of  Mr.  Van  Buren,  "  And  what 
(asked  he)  is  the  interpretation  of  the  verdict  they  have  pronounced  ? 
A  condemnation  both  of  men  and  of  measures.  They  have  said,  down 
with  the  sub-treasury  scheme — down  with  the  imperial  army  project — 
down  with  the  proposition  to  give  away  the  public  lands — down  with  the 
extravagances  of  the  administration — down  with  the  administration  it- 
self. We  have  made  a  change  of  men,  and  we  demand  a  change  of 
measures,"  He  then  spoke  of  the  qualifications  of  General  Harrison 
for  the  crisis.  He  said,  that  he  had  been  a  member  of  the  convention 
of  1836  that  nominated  General  Harrison  for  the  presidency,  and  that 
he  was  also  one  of  the  Maryland  Electors  in  that  year,  as  he  was  now, 
and  had  from  that  time  to  the  present  earnestly  maintained  the  superi- 
ority of  his  qualifications.  "  But  (said  he)  gentlemen,  I  am  not  one  of 
those  who  expect  that  the  mere  election  of  General  Harrison  will  bring 
about  a  political  millennium.  It  will  doubtless  revive  public  confidence, 
and  in  that  way  produce  much  immediate  benefit.  But  I  believe  that 
years  of  toil,  and  the  aid  of  the  wisdom  and  energy  of  our  experienced 
statesmen,  will  be  required  to  restore  our  prosperity,  and  relieve  the  cation 
from  the  evil  effects  of  the  measures  of  the  last  and  present  administra- 
tions."    He  then  shadowed  forth  the  duties  of  the  new  administration,  in 


302  SKETCHES    OF   EMINENT    AMERICANS. 

a  masterly  manner,  and  concluded  his  beautiful  and  able  address  in 
these  magnanimous  words :  "  Am  I  right  in  saying,  that  in  this  coun- 
try, no  man  should  be  excepted  to,  merely  on  account  of  a  difference  of 
opinion  ?  (Applause.)  Let  us  then  act  out  the  spirit  of  our  constitution, 
and  banish  every  species  of  intolerance  from  the  land.  Let  us  now,  in 
the  plentude  of  power,  extend  to  the  honest  portion  of  our  political 
opponents,  the  same  impunity  for  freedom  of  opinion,  which  in  tlie  hour 
of  adversity  we  claimed  for  ourselves.  Although  they  visited  us  with 
ostracism — although,  for  twelve  long  years,  they  treated  us  as  '  aliens 
in  the  commonwealth  of  Israel,  and  strangers  to  the  covenant  of  pro- 
mise,' let  us  forgive  and  forget,  and  remember  only  that  we  are  all 
brethren  of  the  same  great  household,  united  together  by  common  in- 
terests— common  hopes — a  common  destiny. 

"  In  conclusion,  gentlemen,  allow  me  to  propose  the  following  sentiment; 

'  The  people  of  the  United  States.  To  continue  to  be  free,  they  must 
agree  to  difier.' " 

At  a  party  dinner,  it  does  not  often  happen  that  so  generous  a  senti- 
ment as  this  is  made  the  motto  of  a  pai-ty  by  the  orator  of  the  day,  and 
especially  when  that  party  has  just  won  its  way  to  power,  with  the 
offices  of  government  filled  with  their  opponents.  But  Mr.  Coale  is  just 
the  man  to  feel  and  to  utter  such  sentiments,  and  on  just  such  occasions. 
And  we  shall  see,  in  a  subsequent  part  of  this  sketch,  that  his  fellow 
citizen's  appreciate  this  high  trait  in  his  character. 

In  the  long  agitated  question  of  reform  in  Maryland,  which  resulted 
in  the  new  constitution  of  1851,  Mr.  Coale  was,  from  the  outset,  a 
prominent  actor.  Though  he  ever  favored  a  judicious  reform  in  the 
constitution,  he  always  opposed  those  radical  notions  which  were  some- 
times advocated  in  the  assemblies  of  the  people,  and  in  the  informal  con- 
ventions of  delegates.  The  writer  of  this  sketch,  who  was  a  delegate 
from  one  of  the  Counties  to  a  convention  assembled  in  Baltimore,  well 
recollects  the  effect  of  a  speech  made  by  Mr.  Coale  in  this  convention, 
in  opposition  to  an  unconstitutional  project  then  proposed.  Still,  how- 
ever, the  agitation  continued  for  years  afterwards,  and  the  democratic 
party  elected  through  the  ballot-box  an  informal  assembly,  to  meet  at 
Annapolis  and  frame  a  new  constitution  to  supersede  the  old  one,  with- 
out regard  to  the  forms  prescribed  in  it  for  a  change  of  government. 
The  Governor,  Thomas  W.  Veazey,  issued  his  proclamation  just  on  the  eve 
of  the  meeting  of  this  convention,  calling  on  the  militia  of  the  State  to 
hold  themselves  in  readiness  in  case  the  government  should  need 
their  services.  This  question  of  reform  was  very  much  a  sectional  matter, 
the  western  part  of  the  State  favoring  it,  and  the  southern  and  eastern 
parts  opposing  it.  On  this  account,  the  question  was  not  entirely  a  party 
one.  Therefore  when  Governor  Veazey  issued  his  proclamation,  men  of 
both  parties  in  their  several  parts  of  the  State  were  ready  to  uphold  the 
old  constitution.  Colonel  John  Contee,  who  had,  in  the  war  of  1812,  as 
a  lieutenant  of  marines  in  the  battles  between  the  Constitution  and  the 
Guerriere  and  the  Constitution  and  the  Java,  distinguished  himself  for 
gallantry,  but  had  since  been  living  privately  on  his  large  plantations  in 
the  great  tobacco  region,  called  the  "  Forest  of  Prince  George's,"  upon 
the  proclamation  of  the  Governor,  issued  an  order  to  a  troop  of  horse 
composed  of  the  planters  of  his  neighborhood  without  distinction  of  party. 


JAMES    M.    COALE,    OF    FREDERICK    CITY,    MARYLAND.  303 

which  he  had  commanded  for  years ;  and  at  a  meeting  of  his  troop, 
equipped  them  for  seizing  this  convention  if  they  assembled,  and  punish 
them  in  a  summary  way.  Col.  Contee  was  descended  from  a  family 
in  France.  His  forefathers  came  to  Maryland  at  an  early  period.  He 
was  one  of  those  daring  spirits  endowed  with  high  military  genius, 
and  like  the  Old  Norman  Barons,  inspired  with  a  spirit  of  chivalry  that 
delighted  in  nothing  so  much  as  deeds  of  high  emprise.  His  troop  had 
made  arrangements  to  meet  in  the  Piny  Woods  near  Annapolis  the 
night  before  the  day  for  the  meeting  of  the  revolutionary  convention. 
But  the  order  of  the  Maryland  Hotspur  had  spread  consternation 
into  the  pacific  bosoms  of  the  representatives  of  revolution  and  anarchy  ; 
and  choosing  discretion  as  the  better  part  of  valor,  they  regarded 
Contee's  cavalry  more  than  the  votes  of  the  people,  and  never  showed 
their  faces  at  Annapolis,  though  they  set  out  from  home  for  that  pur- 
pose. 

Mr.  Coale,  though  living  in  the  western  part  of  the  state,  and  advo- 
cating a  change  in  the  constitution,  strove  with  his  whole  energy  to 
keep  his  party  out.  of  a  position  where  they  must  find  themselves 
fighting  against  the  laws,  or  ignominiously  running  away.  And  his  party 
did  not  enlist  under  the  banner  of  "  blood  and  thunder"  to  hide  them-* 
selves  at  the  neighing  of  Contee's  war-horse. 

The  constitution  was,  by  a  convention  called  by  a  vote  of  the  people 
authorized  by  an  act  of  the  Legislature,  reformed  in  1851.  Mr.  Coale 
was  not  a  member  of  this  convention.  He  was,  however,  unanimously 
nominated  by  a  concurrent  vote  of  Whigs  and  Democrats  upon  a  ticket 
composed  of  gentlemen  of  both  parties  as  a  candidate  for  a  seat  in  the 
convention.  Soroe  of  his  party,  however,  preferred  to  have  a  party  ticket, 
and  requested  him  to  withdraw  from  the  other  ticket  and  serve  on  such 
an  one.  He  therefore  withdrew  from  the  other  ticket,  but  declined  to 
serve  on  any  other. 

After  the  new  constitution  was  framed  and  submitted  to  the  people 
for  ratification,  Mr.  Coale,  though  objecting  to  many  of  its  features,  voted 
for  it.  And  now  came  the  difficult  part  to  be  performed  in  reforming 
the  government  and  institutions  of  the  State.  Laws  had  to  be  devised  to 
carry  the  new  constitution  into  eftect;  and  the  old  laws  had  to  be 
remodelled  so  as  to  suit  the  exigency.  All  eyes  in  his  native  county  and 
many  all  over  the  state,  immediately  turned  towards  Mr.  Coale  as  a  gentle- 
man whose  services  the  state  must  command.  Both  political  parties  in 
his  native  county  determined,  now  as  before,  to  lay  aside  prejudices,  and 
nominate  him  as  a  candidate  for  the  House  of  Delegates.  Though,  as 
we  have  already  seen,  when  a  young  man  he  had  always  declined  to  serve 
in  the  Legislature ;  and  though,  as  we  shall  presently  see,  he  had,  after 
eight  years  of  the  most  arduous  toil,  as  President  of  the  Chesapeake  and 
Ohio  Canal  Company,  just  retired  from  the  office  for  repose,  he  felt  him- 
self obliged  to  obey  the  commands  of  his  fellow  citizens.  He  was 
elected  to  the  Legislature,  and  though  his  party  were  in  the  minority  and 
consequently  he  was  not  placed  in  committee  arrangements,  where  his 
abilities  entitled  him  to  be  put,  yet  it  is  admitted  by  all  that  he  was  a 
chief  amongst  the  efficient  members  of  the  General  Assembly.  His 
indefatigable  industry  enabled  him,  out  of  the  House,  to  master  the 
details  of  business,  devise  and  frame  such  laws  as  the  emergencies  of  the 


804  SKETCHES    OF    EMINENT    AMERICANS. 

State  required  ;  and  his  facility  as  a  speaker  gave  him  the  lead  in  debate, 
upon  measures.  His  influence  was  nearly  as  great  with  one  party  as 
the  other ;  not  because  he  had  been  elected  by  both  parties  in  his  own 
county,  but  because  of  the  same  qualities  which  had  disarmed  prejudices 
at  home,  great  ability  and  undoubted  integrity.  Whatever  of  conse- 
quence was  done  by  this  Legislature,  all  are  agreed,  is  due  as  much  at 
least  to  Mr.  Coale  as  to  any  other  member  of  either  House.  From  the 
fact,  however,  that  his  party  were  in  the  minority,  and  his  position  in 
committees  therefore  not  favorable,  a  great  part  of  his  labors  do  not 
appear  upon  the  records  of  the  Legislature. 

We  thus  see  that  Mr.  Coale,  though  a  firm  whig,  and  always  looked  to 
and  relied  upon  by  his  party  in  all  emergencies  in  party  contests,  yet 
from  the  noble  sentiments  uttered  by  him  at  the  electoral  dinner  in 
Amapolis,  in  1840,  has  always  received,  because  his  whole  life  has 
justified  it,  the  highest  consideration  of  the  democratic  party. 

We  now  come  to  the  most  important  part  of  Mr,  Coale's  public  life. 
The  events,  however,  are  concurrent  in  time  with  those  already  related,  and 
are  deferred  to  the  last  merely  for  the  sake  of  perspicuity  of  narrative. 

It  is  a  notable  fact  in  the  history  of  nations  that,  at  certain  epochs, 
men  of  large  ideas  are  born,  to  lay  the  broad  foundations  of  empire  for 
future  generations  to  build  upon.  The  conception  and  the  purpose  upon 
which  the  Chesapeake  and  Ohio  Canal  has  been  built,  originated  with 
General  Washington  as  early  as  1755.  With  those  wide  views  which 
belong  to  men  who  in  the  order  of  providence  lay  the  foundations  of 
human  institutions,  General  Washington,  anticipating  the  rapid  settlement 
of  the  then  great  western  wilderness,  foresaw  the  importance  and  believed 
in  the  practicability  of  an  artificial  water  communication  betweeii  it  and 
the  Atlantic  Ocean.  In  1774,  he  procured  a  law  from  the  Virginia  Legis- 
lature, empowering  individuals  to  make  the  Potomac  River  navigable  as 
far  as  Will's  Creek,  about  180  miles.  This  was  the  first  active  eflbrt,  which 
nearly  a  century  after  the  first  conception,  resulted  in  the  construction 
of  a  great  canal  from  tide-water  on  the  Potomac,  to  the  mineral  mines 
of  the  Alleghany  Mountains.  At  that  time,  thirteen  sparsely  inhabited 
colonies  stretched  along  the  Atlantic  coast.  The  mighty  empire  which, 
was  to  arise,  towering  above,  not  however  to  overshadow,  but  to  make 
radiant  with  national  glory,  these  feeble  colonies,  had  not  then  even 
loomed  upon  the  most  distant  horizon  of  history.  But  the  disposition  of 
man  to  rule  tyrannically  over  the  weak,  roused  in  the  bold  minds  of  these 
colonies  a  spirit  of  resistance,  which,  in  order  to  fortify  itself,  made  it 
necessary  that  they  should  join  in  fraternal  league  against  the  common 
foe.  General  Washington  was  now  diverted  from  his  peaceful  purpose, 
by  the  necessity  devolved  on  him  to  command  the  army  of  the  war  of 
the  revolution.  As  soon  as  the  war  terminated,  he  turned  his  attention 
again  to  this  great  work;  and  in  the  fall  of  1784,  he  made  a  tour  on 
horseback,  of  680  miles,  that  he  might  ascertain,  from  personal  exami- 
nation, the  practicability  of  opening  a  communication  between  the  head 
waters  of  the  rivers  running  eastward  into  the  Atlantic,  and  those  that 
flow  westward  into  the  Ohio  and  the  lakes.  On  his  return,  he  ad- 
dressed a  letter  to  the  Governor  of  Virginia,  in  which  he  maintained 
the  practicability  of  his  great  commercial  highway.  The  States  of  Vir- 
ginia and  Marj'land  incorporated  a  company,  styled  the  Potomac  Com- 


JAMES    M.    COALE,    OF    FREDERICK    CITY,    MARYLAND.  305 

pany,  to  carry  into  effect  the  purposes  of  General  Washington.  On  the 
I7th  of  May,  1785,  the  Company  was  organized.  General  Washington 
was  elected  President.  Thomas  Johnson  and  Thomas  Sim  Lee,  the  first 
two  Governors  of  Maryland  after  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  were 
associated  with  him  in  the  direction  ;  and  James  Rumsey,  who  claimed 
to  be  the  first  discoverer  of  the  practicability  of  the  application  of  steam 
to  navigation,  was  chosen  the  General  Superintendent  of  the  work. 

Upon  the  adoption  of  the  federal  Constitution,  General  Washington 
resigned  his  place  in  the  Company,  to  assume  the  duties  of  President  of 
the  United  States.  His  connexion  with  the  Potomac  Company  shows 
his  extraordinary  devotion  to  whatever  he  considered  a  great  public  in- 
terest, which  is  more  distinctly  manifested  in  his  life,  than  that  of  any 
man  whose  footsteps  are  imprinted  in  the  paths  of  history. 

In  December,  1820,  after  thirty-seven  years  of  labor,  and  the  expen- 
diture of  more  than  half  a  million  of  dollars,  the  improvement  pro- 
jected by  the  Potomac  Company  was  determined  by  those  then 
concerned  in  it,  to  be  an  entire  failure.  But  a  great  financial  Hercules 
had  grown  up  in  the  mean  time.  A  general  government,  uniting  the 
original  thirteen  states,  with  several  others,  into  one  nation,  had  been 
established.  It  was  now  thought  that  the  great  project  would  be  con- 
structed by  the  general  government.  On  the  2d  December,  1823, 
President  Monroe  called  the  attention  of  Congress  to  the  propriety  of  a 
canal  connecting  the  waters  of  the  Chesapeake  and  Ohio.  In  1826, 
General  Bernard  and  other  United  States  Engineers  who  had  been  die- 
tailed  on  a  survey,  made  a  report  favorable  to  the  project.  The  Chesa- 
peake and  Ohio  Canal  Company  was  now  incorporated  by  Maryland, 
Virginia,  and  the.  Federal  Government,  in  the  place  of  the  Potomac 
Company,  which  surrendered  its  franchises.  The  United  States  favored 
the  purposes  of  this  company  just  far  enough  to  induce  others  to  em- 
bark in  it,  and  then,  at  the  very  first  shifting  of  the  political  breeze,  to 
bear  oft',  and  leave  them  in  the  lurch. 

In  1835,  Maryland  found  that  the  completion  of  the  work  in  which 
she  had  invested  only  $625,000,  was  devolved  solely  upon  her.  More 
than  four  millions  had  already  been  expended  upon  the  work.  All  man- 
ner of  embarrassments  encompassed  the  enterprise,  and  the  sole  ques- 
tion now  was  whether  it  should  be  abandoned  ?  Maryland  resolved  to 
finish  it.  And  now  began  one  of  the  most  difficult  and  hazardous 
enterprises  that  any  state  ever  embarked  in.  Bonds  of  the  state  were 
issued  year  after  year  to  the  Company,  which,  anticipating  a  large  pre- 
mium, could  only  be  sold  at  ruinous  sacrifices.  Things  went  on  from 
bad  to  worse,  until  in  1843,  all  hope  of  completing  the  work  seemed  ex- 
tinguished by  the  extraordinary  financial  crisis  of  the  whole  world.  In 
the  August  of  this  year,  Mr.  Coale  was  elected  the  President  of  the  Com- 
pany. The  Company  was  overwhelmed  with  difficulties.  Its  floating 
debts  amounted  to  nearly  twelve  hundred  thousand  dollars,  and  they  due 
in  modes  most  embarrassing  to  the  Company.  The  United  States,  the 
State  of  Virginia,  the  District  Cities,  and  all  the  private  stockholders,  re- 
fused any  pecuniary  assistance.  Maryland  herself  was  struggling  under 
an  almost  crushing  burden  of  debt,  with  disordered  finances  and  prostrate 
credit.  Heavy  breaches  had  been  made  by  freshets  in  the  canal.  The 
revenue  of  the  year  was  a  little  over  forty-seven  thousand  dollars,  and 
VOL.  III.  20 


306  SKETCHES    OF    EMINENT    AMERICANS. 

the  annual  expenditure  over  eighty  thousand.  Such  was  the  condition 
of  the  Company  when  Mr.  Coale  assumed  the  presidency.  It  is  needless 
to  say,  that  he  did  not  desire  the  place.  The  past  was  too  long  a  vista 
of  failure,  and  the  present  too  much  a  scene  of  bankruptcy,  to  evoke 
pleasant  anticipations  from  the  future. 

But  it  seems  that  there  is  no  crisis  too  difficult  for  some  men ;  when 
others  see  nothing  but  darkness,  they  behold  a  bow  of  hope  arching  with 
its  cheering  tints  the  canopy  of  disaster.  They  know  the  combination  of 
thino-s  by  which  strength  is  formed  out  of  weakness,  and  relying  upon  the 
soundness  of  their  judgment,  and  the  efficiency  of  their  administrative 
skill,  they  calmly  view  the  possibilities  of  any  case,  and  calculate  the 
means  of  accomplishment,  with  a  sagacity  which  is  seen  in  the  success 
of  their  undertakings.  This  is  remarkably  illustrated  in  the  adminis- 
tration of  the  Canal  Company  by  Mr.  Coale.  In  his  very  first  report  to 
the  Legislature,  he  explained  so  clearly  the  causes  of  the  past  difficulties 
of  the  Company,  that  the  wisest  man  in  the  State  ])rofessed  to  be 
enlightened,  and  he  proposed  a  financial  measure,  which  if  the  Legislature 
had  adopted,  it  is  manifest,  would  have  saved  the  Company  immense 
losses,  and  rescued  it  from  its  subsequent  difficulties.  But  he  had  to 
struggle  on  with  the  most  harassing  embarrassments.  At  the  session 
of  1844-1845,  the  Legislature  passed  a  law  similar  in  principle  to  that 
which  had  been  proposed  by  Mr.  Coale  in  his  first  report,  but  less  in  the 
amount  of  money  authorized  to  be  raised,  and  encumbered  by  restrictions 
which  only  increased  the  inherent  difficulties  of  the  case. 

If  now'  we  take  a  step  forward,  we  find  Mr.  Coale  sounding  the 
depths  of  the  money  market  on  both  sides  of  the  Atlantic,  without  being 
able,  on  account  of  the  restrictions  in  the  law  of  which  we  have  just 
spoken,  to  make  favorable  negotiations.  The  most  disastrous  freshets 
had  again  damaged  the  canal;  and  just  as  one  breach  was  repaired, 
another  and  another  inundation  would  burst  open  others.  It  seemed  as 
if  the  very  elements  had  conspired  with  bad  legislation  for  the  destruction 
of  the  work  ;  so  unprecedented  were  both  the  frequency  and  the  magni- 
tude of  the  inundations.  But  Mr.  Coale  bore  up  the  fortunes  of  the 
canal  above  all  these  tides  of  disaster,  and  succeeded  in  carrying  into 
efiect  every  provision  of  the  law.  For  eight  years  did  he  struggle  with, 
and  overcome,  the  trying  embarrassments  of  which  we  have  sketched  a 
faint  outline,  the  details  of  which  only  can  give  a  proper  picture  of  what 
Mr.  Coale  accomplished. 

But  a  faithful  man  has  his  reward,  if  in  nothing  else,  in  the  satisfaction 
of  his  triumphs.  The  long  and  painful  journey  seems,  on  account  of  its 
very  difficulties,  to  inspire  us  with  vigor  as  we  look  back  along  it,  from 
the  altitude  of  its  accomplishment.  On  the  10th  day  of  October,  1850, 
Mr.  Coale  felt  something  of  this  noble  satisfaction,  when  he  stood  in  the 
midst  of  the  Alleghany  mountains,  at  the  Town  of  Cumberland,  and  pro- 
claimed to  the  multitude  assembled  around  him,  that  the  Chesapeake 
and  Ohio  Canal  was  completed  to  the  mineral  bosoms  of  the  surrounding 
coal  fields.  It  was,  indeed,  a  proud  pulse  that  must  have  beaten  in  his 
heart  that  day.  He  stood  in  the  midst  of  the  State  Agents,  the  Directoi-s 
of  the  Company,  the  corporate  authorities  of  George  Town  and  of 
Cumberland,  who  had  been  the  witnesses  of  his  struggles,  with  the  fulfil- 
ment of  all  his  promises  signalized  as  well  as  redeemed,  in  the  mighty 


JAMES    M.    COALE,  OF    FREDERICK    CITY,    MAKYLAND.  30*7 

work  which  thev  had  just  traversed  through  its  vast  reaches  over  the 
barriers  of  nature. 

And  what  is  this  Chesapeake  and  Ohio  Canal  ?  Let  us  for  a  moment 
expand  our  view  to  the  full  magnitude  of  the  work  !  Let  us  run  our  eyes 
along  its  vast  line,  and  calculate  its  dimensions,  and  estimate  the  immense 
sum  of  money  which  it  has  cost,  in  order  to  form  some  judgment  of  the 
difticuhies  of  such  an  enterprise ! 

The  Canal  between  George  Town,  in  the  district  of  Columbia  and 
Cumberland,  lies  on  the  north  side  of  the  river  Potomac,  with  the 
advantage  of  a  southern  exposure,  and  pursues  the  valley  of  the  river 
througliout  its  whole  length,  except  at  a  point  called  the  Pawpaw  Bend, 
about  27  miles  below  Cuml>erland,  where  it  passes  through  a  tunnel 
3118  feet  in  length,  and  walled  and  arched  with  brick  laid  in  cement. 
From  Rock  Creek  basin  in  George  Town,  where  it  first  reaches  tide 
water,  to  the  basin  in  Cumberland,  is  184  miles  ;  and  the  total  rise  from 
the  level  of  mid-tide  at  George  Town,  to  Cumberland  basin,  is  six 
hundred  and  nine  feet.  This  ascent  is  overcome  by  74  lift  locks,  and  a 
tide  lock  that  connects  Rock  Creek  basin  with  the  Potomac  River.  At 
the  terminus  of  the  canal,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Tyber  in  Washington 
City,  is  another  tide  lock,  which  connects  it  with  the  Potomac  River, 
and  also  with  the  City  canal.  The  latter  canal  passes  entirely  through 
the  city,  and  terminates  on  the  eastern  branch. 

The  Chesapeake  and  Ohio  Canal  is  constructed  for  a  depth  of  six  feet 
throughout.  From  George  Town  to  Hai-per's  Ferry,  60  miles,  it  is  60  feet 
wiiie  at  the  surface,  and  42  at  the  bottom.  From  Harper's  Ferry  to  dam  No, 
5,  47  miles,  the  width  at  the  surface  is  50  feet,  and  at  the  bottom  32  feet; 
and  from  dam  No.  5  to  Cumberland,  77^  miles,  the  surface  is  54  feet, 
and  the  bottom  30  feet.  The  average  lift  of  the  locks  exceeds  8  feet. 
They  are  100  feet  long,  15  wide  in  the  clear,  and  are  capable  of  passing 
boats  carrying  120  tons.  The  supply  of  water  is  drawn  from  the  Poto- 
mac, by  means  of  dams  across  the  river  constructed  at  seven  different 
points. 

The  cost  of  the  work  from  the  mouth  of  Tyber,  in  the  City  of  Washing- 
ton, to  Cumberland,  a  distance  of  more  than  187  miles,  is  more  than  eleven 
millions  of  dollars. 

To  have  been  one  of  the  chief  agents  in  constructing  such  a  stupendous 
work,  and  one  to  be  productive  of  benefits  to  so  many  generations  of  men, 
is  no  mean  renown. 

On  the  27th  of  February,  1851,  at  the  first  meeting  of  the  stockholders, 
after  the  completion  of  the  canal,  assembled  at  Washington  City,  Mr. 
Coale  made  his  report,  announcing  the  great  fact,  that  the  Chesapeake 
and  Ohio  Canal  was  completed  to  the  mineral  region  of  the  Alleganies. 
The  report  is  of  an  unusual  character  for  such  documents.  It  is  not 
a  mere  business  paper.  It  is  a  detailed  history  of  the  canal  from  its  origin 
under  the  Potomac  Company,  to  its  completion  under  the  Chesapeake  and 
Ohio  Canal  Company.  The  report  takes  a  retrospect  of  the  history  of  the 
work  ;  and  an  instructive  history  it  is.  It  should  be  read  by  every 
legislator  in  the  land.  It  presents  a  striking  picture  of  the  long  delays  and 
the  wasteful  expenditure  of  public  money,  which  result  from  dilatory  legis- 
lation, from  ignorance  of  legislators  about  financial  arrangements,  from  the 
jealousy  of  poUtical  parties,  from  distrust  in  the  opinions  of  scientific  men, 


308  SKETCHES    OF   EMINENT   AMERICANS. 

and  faith  in  the  illiterate  judgment  of  men  called  practical,  and  from  other 
blunders  of  the  head  and  the  heart,  which  characterized  the  whole  course 
of  leoislation  in  regard  to  the  great  work  which  we  have  been  reviewing. 

On  the  same  day  Mr.  Coale  resigned  the  presidency  of  the  Company 
against  the  remonstrances  of  the  stockholders.  He  had  accomplished 
what  he  undertook — the  completion  of  the  canal.  He  desired  and 
sought  repose.  But,  as  we  have  seen,  he  was  immediately  called  into  the 
Legislature,  at  an  important  crisis  of  the  state.  The  last  of  the  two  long 
and  laborious  sessions  which  were  embraced  in  his  term  of  service  only 
ended  in  May  last.  Mr.  Coale  is  now  in  the  early  prime  of  life,  and 
enioys  a  popularity  which  is  destined  to  be  lasting ;  because  it  is  of  the 
kind  described  by  Lord  Mansfield  as  that  which  follows,  not  that  which 
is  sought  after. 

N.B. — Mr.  Coale  is  generally  known  in  public  and  private  life  as 
General  Coale,  being  Brigadier-General  of  9th  Brigade  Maryland  Militia. 


JOHN    ANSPAOH,    JR.,    OF   PHILADELPHIA,    PA.  309 

JOHN    ANSPACH,    Jr., 

OF    PHILADELPHIA,    PENN., 

PRESIDENT    OF     THE     LOCUST     MOUNTAIN     COAL    AND    IRON    COMPANY. 

There  are  few  persons  who  do  not  experience  a  degree  of  pleasure 
when  contemplating  the  human  mind  in  its  conflicts  with  such  obstacles 
as  may  oppose  its  progress  on  the  road  to  honorable  distinction.  For 
there  is  a  nobleness  in  its  bearing  when  brought  into  collision  with 
opposing  influences,  which  cannot  fail  to  inspire  us  with  admiration. 
And  it  is  amid  those  struggles  which  are  incident  to  such  Spheres  of 
exertion  as  exalt  the  character  of  man,  that  we  witness  the  extent  of  its 
capabilities,  the  greatness  of  its  resources,  and  the  grandeur  of  its 
destiny.  It  has  achieved  brilliant  triumphs  in  the  advancement  of 
civilization,  in  the  progress  of  the  arts,  in  the  march  of  science,  and  in 
the  enlargements  of  commerce,  and  also  in  forming  wise  governments  and 
equitable  laws.  But  it  is  not  material  what  department  of  human 
industry  may  be  the  sphere  of  man's  mental  and  moral  exertions ;  for  in 
all  these  are  the  eftbrts  of  the  mind  sublime  when  it  overcomes  formida- 
ble obstacles.  And  these  exertions  of  the  intellect  rise  in  grandeur  in 
proportion  to  the  dignity  of  the  contest  in  which  it  is  engaged,  and  the 
mag'nitude  and  utility  of  the  results  which  flow  from  its  successful  issue. 
But  all  are  not  born  for  distinction ;  forasmuch  as  all  are  not  provided 
with  that  intellectual  furniture  which  is  absolutely  essential  to  the  eleva- 
tion and  advancement  of  man.  For  the  attainment  of  eminence  in  any 
pursuit,  there  is  demanded  a  comprehensive  mind,  all  whose  faculties 
must  be  plied  with  untiring  energy.  A  great  intellect  is  needed,  not 
only  to  plan  and  execute  successfully  a  campaign  which  involves  the 
honor  and  the  interests  of  a  nation,  or  rightly  to  administer  the  affairs  of 
state  at  home  and  abroad,  but  it  is  also  necessary  to  the  acquisition  and 
judicious  management  and  disposal  of  great  wealth.  And  while  it  can- 
not be  doubted  that  many  naturally  brilliant  intellects  remain  unseen, 
because  buried  in  the  bosom  of  society,  like  the  gem  in  the  depths  of  the 
sea ;  there  are  others  in  the  business  pursuits  of  our  land  whose  achieve- 
ments are  worthy  of  being  chronicled  by  the  side  of  those  whose  position 
and  acts  are  of  such  a  nature  as  to  bring  them  conspicuously  before  the 
public  eye.  There  are  many  minds  as  vigorous  and  great  in  the  business 
world  as  in  the  learned  professions.  And  the  same  amount  of  intellectual 
energy  which  is  displayed  by  men  in  mercantile  and  commercial  pursuits, 
would,  in  the  political  world,  secure  for  them  unfading  laurels ;  and  in 
science  it  would  enrich  them  with  as  brilliant  a  coronet  as  ever  adorned 
the  brow  of  the  philosopher.  The  gentleman  of  whom  the  writer  proposes 
to  furnish  a  brief  sketch,  is  himself  a  living  illustration  of  this  truth. 

Having  learned  that  a  distinguished  citizen  of  Pennsylvania  presented 
to  the  publishers  of  the  "  Portraits  of  Eminent  Living  Americans,"  th« 
name  of  John  Anspach,  Jr.,  as  eminently  worthy  of  a  place  in  that  work, 
and  knowing  that  the  gentleman  is  too  modest  to  present  an  outline  of 
his  own  history,  the  dictates  of  friendship  induce  the  writer  to  furnish  a 


810  SKETCHES    OP   EMINENT    AMERICANS^ 

brief  sketch  of  his  life,  which  is  no  less  clue  to  the  public  than  to  my 
friend.  And  as  the  entire  history  of  his  family  is  singularly  romantic,  I 
will  only  indicate  a  few  outlines  of  what  might  form  an  instructive 
volume.  Were  it  proper  to  enter  into  full  details  of  his  struggles  and 
triumphs,  we  could  present  a  glowing  picture  of  the  indomitable  force  of 
lofty  talent  judiciously  directed.  But  this  falls  not  within  the  province 
of  this  sketch. 

The  subject  of  this  memoir  is  descended  from  one  of  the  most  distin- 
guished families  of  Franconia  in  Germany.  His  ancestors  resided  in  the 
city  of  Anspach,  and  the  name  of  the  family  is  associated  with  the  lead- 
ino-  events  of  their  times  in  the  history  of  Franconia.  The  castle  of  An- 
spach, situated  on  a  river  of  the  same  name,  is  still  in  good  condition,  and 
enriched  with  a  rare  cabinet.  In  process  of  time  the  family  had  posses- 
sion of  estates  in  Lorraine,  and  were  among  the  last  dukes  of  that  pro- 
vince. The  great-grandfather  of  our  friend  had  three  sons,  who,  in  conse- 
quence of  political  disturbances  on  the  one  hand,  and  from  love  of  adven- 
ture on  the  other,  emigrated  to  America  about  the  year  IVSO.  The  old- 
est brother  of  these,  John  Adam  Anspach,  was  the  grandfather  of  om 
friend.  The  second  brother  died  on  their  voyage  to  this  country.  The 
youngest  brother  was  noted  for  his  restless  and  martial  spirit.  He  could 
not  long  content  himself  in  a  quiet,  business  life,  and  accordingly,  as  soon 
as  opportunity  offered,  he  applied  for  and  obtained  a  commission  in  the 
army  of  the  revoluiion.  He  served  under  Lafayette  (through  whose  infln- 
ence  he  doubtless  obtained  his  appointment),  and  is  known  in  American 
history  as  Major  Anspach.  There  is  still  a  balance  due  to  him  in  tlu-  wai- 
office  at  Washington.  His  life  was  one  of  singular  adventures,  soin/  nf 
which  are  given  by  a  writer,  unknown  to  the  family,  in  Graham's  M;---- 
zine  for  November,  1849.  After  a  residence  of  some  years  in  this  conntry 
he  returned  to  Paris  after  the  restoration  of  the  Bourbons. 

The  oldest  brother,  John  Adam  Anspach,  and  the  grandfather  ot'  >.ui' 
friend,  purchased  a  valuable  property  in  Philadelphia.  Here  he  emb:i!  \<  >[ 
in  the  mercantile  business,  and  also  purchased  a  large  estate  in  Ik-rlrs 
County,  Pennsylvania.  But  in  the  midst  of  his  prosperity  himself  and 
family  were  cut  off  by  an  epidemic,  and  his  son  John,  the  father  of  our 
friend,  was  left  as  the  only  surviving  heir  of  the  estate.  This  son  was 
not  over  eighteen  months  of  age,  and  therefore  placed  under  the  guardian- 
ship of  trustees,  who  had  been  appointed  to  settle  up  the  estate.  These 
men  were  unfaithful  to  their  trust,  and  the  entire  property  of  the  father 
was  lost  to  the  son.  At  the  age  of  nineteen  he  was  a  penniless  young 
man.  But,  although  no  longer  surrounded  by  the  pomp,  and  invested 
with  the  titles  of  his  noble  ancestors,  nature  had  formed  him  a  nobleman 
worthy  of  those  who  had  preceded  him  in  the  family  chain.  He  was  of 
fine  stature,  and  possessed  a  robust  physical  organization,  and  of  strong 
and  even  rare  intellectual  energies.  Too  proud  to  complain,  and  with  full 
confidence  in  his  own  resources,  he  scorned  hardships,  and  addressed  him- 
self with  all  the  ardor  of  a  determined  and  hopeful  mind  to  the  work  that 
was  before  him.  He  removed  to  Centre  County,  Pennsylvania,  then 
newly  settled,  and  purchased  a  tract  of  unimproved  land.  Here  he  was 
maiTied  to  an  excellent  Christian  lady,  by  whom  he  had  eleven  children, 
ten  of  whom  are  still  living,  five  sons  and  five  daughters.  The  influence 
of  that  excellent  mother,  no  doubt,  contributed  largely  to  the  formation 


JOHN    ANSPACH,    JR.,    OF    PHILADELPHIA,    PA.  311 

of  the  family  character.  The  father  is  still  living,  and  has  the  rare  satis- 
faction of  seeing  all  his  children  prosperous  and  happy.  All  seem  to 
have  inherited  the  intellectual  gifts  of  the  parents.  An  extraordinary 
force  of  will,  energy  of  purpose,  joined  with  a  sound  and  discriminating 
judgment,  seemed  to  be  characteristics  of  the  whole  family,  as  far  as 
the  writer  has  had  an  opportunity  of  judging.  The  father  of  our  friend 
had,  by  industry  and  application  to  business,  acquired  a  handsome  pro- 
perty. But  he  was  also  destined  to  meet  with  adversities  as  he  advanced 
m  life.  A  destructive  fire  consumed  his  property,  and  this  was  succeeded 
by  heavy  losses  in  business  operations,  so  that  he  had  to  send  forth  his 
numerous  family  to  commence  the  struggles  of  life  with  no  other  fortune 
than  a  good  religious  training,  and  such  an  education  as  the  best  schools 
of  that  time  could  furnish.  But  this  was  not  only  an  ample,  but  the 
veiy  best  capital  which  they  could  have  received,  as  the  history  of  all 
abundantly  proves.  The  oldest  brother,  J,  G.  Anspach,  is  a  worthy  and 
highly  useful  Christian  minister  in  Union  county,  Pa.  The  next  oldest 
brother,  Jacob,  has  a  fine  property  in  Huntington  county.  Pa.,  and  is  a 
citizen  of  great  influence  and  moral  worth  in  the  community  in  which 
he  resides.  John  and  William  are  associated  in  the  mercantile  and  other 
business.  The  youngest  brother,  F.  R.,  is  a  clergyman,  and  resides  in 
Hagerstown,  Md.  He  also  promises  eminence  in  his  profession  by  his 
publications  which  have  fallen  under  the  writer's  notice.  His  eulogy  on 
the  lamented  Claj-  was  pronounced  by  leading  journals  and  distinguished 
men  as  among  the  ablest  delivered  on  that  occasion.  All  the  sisters  are 
honorably  married  and  prospering. 

But  it  is  time  to  return  to  our  subject.  While  many  things  of  interest 
might  be  narrated  relative  to  his  early  life,  we  will  pass  over  a  considerable 
period  without  remark,  and  introduce  him  to  the  reader  on  the  threshold 
of  his  business  life.  After  his  education  at  a  good  country  school  was 
completed,  he  continued  for  a  short  time  occupied  with  such  duties  as 
his  father  assigned  him  about  home.  When  he  was  about  twenty  years 
of  age,  he  had  a  situation  offered  him  in  a  country  store,  and  having 
acquainted  his  father  with  the  offer  and  obtained  his  consent,  he  repaired 
to  Lewisburg,  Union  county,  and  entered  the  service  of  John  Moore  & 
Co.  as  clerk  for  six  months,  at  the  rate  of  five  dollars  a  month,  with  the 
understanding  that  if  he  answered  their  expectations  he  might  retain  his 
situation  for  a  year.  After  the  expiration  of  six  months  his  employers 
without  solicitation  raised  his  salary  to  eight  dollars  per  month,  and  our 
friend  felt  as  though  he  had  achieved  a  great  triumph.  He  continued 
in  the  employ  of  this  firm  for  one  year  and  a  half,  when  business  becoming 
somewhat  dull  he  concluded  to  change  his  situation,  and  with  the  con- 
sent of  his  highly  respected  employers,  he  visited  Sunbury,  the  county 
seat  of  Northumberland,  situated  on  the  Susquehannah  River.  There  he 
again  engaged  himself  in'  the  capacity  of  a  clerk  and  salesman,  with  a 
Mr,  Liebrick,  at  a  salary  of  ten  dollars  per  month.  By  his  close  applica- 
tion to  business,  and  his  affable  manners,  and  his  strict  integrity,  he  soon 
gained  the  confidence  of  his  employer,  and  won  for  himself  the  esteem 
of  the  most  distinguished  citizens  of  Sunbury.  He  remained  but  a  short 
time  in  this  place,  for  his  mind  yearned  for  enlargement,  and  the  sphere 
was  manifestly  too  limited  for  the  exertion  of  his  business  capacities. 
As  he  was  often  heard  to  say,  he  had  not  sufficient  room  to  operate. 


312  SKETCHES    OF   EMINENT   AMERICANS. 

After  mature  consideration  he  resolved  to  go  to  Philadelphia,  and  make 
this  city  the  scene  of  his  future  efforts.  In  coming  to  this  conclusion 
many  formidable  obstacles  which  presented  themselves  to  his  considera- 
tion, had  to  be  successfully  overcome  by  his  mind.  He  was  without 
capital,  and  knew  not  a  single  individual  in  the  great  city,  and  what 
prospects  could  he  have  of  success  ?  He  had  moreover  a  comfortable 
situation,  which  he  would  give  up  for  an  uncertainty ;  but  the  force  of  an 
intellect  born  for  great  deeds,  readily  overcomes  all  suggestions  of  fear  or 
failure ;  and  having  once  resolved  uj)on  this  step,  it  was  not  long  before 
he  put  it  into  execution.  When  he  disclosed  his  intention  of  leaving  for 
Philadelphia  to  his  employer,  the  latter  endeavored  to  dissuade  him 
from  what  he  regarded  as  a  visionary  project,  and  offered  him  a  large 
increase  of  salary  if  he  would  remain.  Besides  his  personal  efforts,  he 
brought  other  prominent  citizens  to  use  their  influence  with  our  friend 
to  induce  him  to  continue  in  Sunbury.  An  offer  of  a  much  larger  salary 
than  WHS  paid  in  the  place  to  any  other  was  used  as  a  final  argument, 
but  with  no  better  effect.  Go  he  would,  although  under  circumstances 
which  have  deterred  many  others  from  making  the  attempt.  We  have 
heard  him  say,  that  he  had  neither  uncle,  rich  friends,  nor  yet  even  an 
humble  private  citizen  to  introduce  him  to  houses  where  he  might  obtain 
employment,  and  yet  all  this  did  not  discourage  him,  but  in  sublime 
self-reliance,  and  trusting  to  the  guidance  of  providence,  he  made  ready 
to  depart.  The  event  of  his  leaving  created  an  unusual  degree  of  regret 
among  those  whose  friendship  he  had  won  ;  and  w^hen  they  heard  that 
he  was  making  arrangements  for  his  departure  a  number  of  the  leading 
citizens  met,  and  drew  up  a  recommendation,  and  signed  it.  As  this 
was  a  period  in  his  life  of  great  determining  power,  and  as  this  recom- 
mendation formed  an  important  part  of  his  capital,  the  writer  solicited 
permission  to  insert  a  copy  of  it. 

"Sunbury,  North  County,  Pennsylvania,  January  30,  1833. — 
We  certify  that  we  have  been  acquainted  with  Mr.  John  Anspach, 
the  bearer  hereof,  for  some  months,  and  recommend  him  as  a  young 
gentleman  of  the  strictest  integrity,  and  of  undoubted  honesty.  During 
his  residence  in  this  place,  he  had  acquired  by  his  politeness  and  attention 
to  business,  the  good  opinion  of  our  citizens.  Signed, — Honorable  A. 
Jordan,  Honorable  Charles  G.  Donnel ;  Charles  W.  Hegins ;  Honorable 
J.  Greheart ;  H.  B.  Mosser :  H.  Shaffer  ;  Honorable  Lewis  Dewart;  John 
Moore  ;  Thomas  Vanvalsey  ;  H.  B.  Sheller ;  James  Duncan,  and  others." 

This  recommendation,  together  with  perhaps  fifty  dollars,  constituted  his 
capital,  and  outfit  for  the  city.  He  arrived  in  Philadelphia ;  a  stranger, 
in  a  strange  city ;  but  suffice  it  to  say  that  he  obtained  a  situation  the 
third  day  after  his  arrival.  He  immediately  entered  upon  the  discharge 
of^  his  duties,  at  a  salary  of  (^300)  three  hundred  dollars  per  annum. 
His  employers,  however,  soon  raised  it  to  four  hundred,  feeling  satisfied 
that  the  services  rendered,  and  the  custom  brought  to  the  house  by  his 
influence,  demanded  a  larger  compensation.  Uncomplaining  and  inde- 
fatigable in  his  application  to  business,  there  was  a  steady  increase  of 
salary.  Another  thing  which  is  deserving  of  notice,  and  which  may  give 
a  useful  hint  to  young  men  who  seek  a  home  in  our  large  cities,  and 
which  perhaps,  as  much  as  anything  else,  contributed  to  his  prosperity, 
was  the  improvement  of  his  leisure  hours.     No  time  was  spent  at  the 


JOHN    ANSPACH,    JK.,    OF    PHILADELPHIA,    PA.  313 

theatre,  or  other  public  amusements,  but  reading,  study,  and  jjlaniiiug, 
filled  up  those  hours  which  were  not  spent  at  the  store. 

Near  the  close  of  his  second,  year  in  the  city,  he  was  united  in  marriago 
to  a  highly  respectable  lady  ;  and  now  that  he  was  settled  in  life,  and  had 
a  family  to  support,  he  looked  around  to  see  if  he  could  not  better  his 
situation.  An  opportunity  soon  presented  itself,  and  he  entered  into 
copartnership  with  two  gentlemen,  the  one  a  partner  in  the  firm  of  Miller 
and  Dorney,  and  the  other  a  clerk  in  the  same  house.  Accordingly,  on 
the  first  oV  January,  1835,  the  firm  of  Dorney,  Hesser,  and  Company 
was  organized,  our  friend  being  the  junior  partner.  They  commenced 
the  Avholesalc  dry  goods  business,  and  the  firm  was  in  successful 
operation  for  seventeen  months,  when,  in  consequence  of  the  death  of 
J.  R.  Hesser,  the  firm  was  dissolved.  The  business  was  then  con- 
tinued by  the  surviving  partners,  and  the  firm  was  known  as- Dorney 
and  Anspach,  until  September,  1840,  when  by  the  death  of  Philip  Dorney 
it  was  again  dissolved.  From  January,  1836,  to  September,  1840,  a  period 
during  which  many  failures  occurred,  the  subject  of  this  memoir  had 
the  entire  management  of  the  financial  department ;  and  not  only  success- 
fully guided  a  comparatively  new  establishment,  through  panics  and  pres- 
sures which  wrecked  the  prosperity  of  many  others  long  and  favorably 
known,  but  so  admirably  did  he  manage  their  funds  that  the  writer 
has  heard  from  an  authentic  source,  that  besides  meeting  all  the  liabilities 
of  the  house  to  the  very  hour,  not  a  month  passed  but  he  had  money  loaned 
out  at  interest ;  and  during  a  protracted  illness  of  the  senior  partner, 
extending  through  a  year,  the  entire  business  w^as  conducted  by  him,  and 
we  need  scarcely  add  that  the  firm  with  which  he  was  associated,  was 
always  esteemed  as  one  of  the  best  houses  in  the  city. 

After  the  death  of  Mr.  Dorney  he  associated  himself  with  a  younger 
brother,  and  a  young  man,  then  in  the  employ  of  the  house,  constituting 
the  present  firm  of  Anspach  Brother  &  Co.  Since  the  year  1840,  he  has 
been  at  the  head  of  this  firm,  whose  standing  has  ever  been  regarded  as 
among  the  best  and  most  responsible  in  Philadelphia  ;  and  its  sound  cha- 
racter and  high  standing  are  largely  owing  to  the  close  attention  which 
our  friend  has  given  to  its  interests.  During  the  period  of  about  seven 
years,  in  which  he  had  been  associated  with  the  afore-mentioned  firms, 
he  had  accumulated  an  amount  of  means  which  justified  him  in  operating 
with  his  private  capital  beyond  the  ordinary  limits  of  a  business  house. 

Accordingly,  as  early  as  1843  he  purchased  a  large  coal  estate,  which 
has  proved  so  profitable  that  the  rents  up  to  January,  1851,  paid  the 
whole  of  the  original  cost.  In  1846,  he  purchased  a  large  undivided 
interest  of  a  coal  estate,  situated  in  Columbia,  Northumberland,  and 
Schuylkill  counties  ;  and  these  purchases  were  continued,  until  he  had 
changed  upwards  of  (6000)  six  thousand  acres,  being  the  residue  of  th» 
large  estate  referred  to  above.  By  these  operations  a  coal  field  unequalled 
in  value  in  this  country,  was  transferred  from  the  hands  of  men  who  were 
disposed  to  be  troublesome,  into  the  possession  of  those  who  (jheerfully 
cooperate  with  him  in  developing  the  immense  resources  of  that  valuable 
mineral  region.  In  making  the  necessary  improvements  to  bring  this 
and  other  fields  into  the  market,  he  has  been  particularly  fortunate  in 
associating  himself  with  far-seeing,  enterprising,  and  practical  men.  Much 
of  the  success  which  has  thus  far  attended  the  enterprise  must  be  ascribed 


314  SKETCHES    OF    EMINENT    AMERICANS. 

to  the  liberal  policy  which  our  friend  pursued  towards  those  who  are 
associated  with  him.  After  a  number  of  ineffectual  attempts  with  other 
parties  who  are  interested  in  the  coal  region  to  join  the  company  over 
which  our  friend  presides  as  president,  and  to  build  a  railroad  for  their 
own  use,  he  finally  called  upon  the  officers  of  the  Mine  Hill  &  Schuylkill 
Haven  Railroad  Company,  and  opened  his  views  fully  to  those  gentlemen. 
They  admitted  the  importance  of  all  that  was  presented  to  their  considera- 
tion, and  shortly  afterwards  examined  the  outlet  for  a  railroad  into  the 
Mahonoy  from  the  Schuylkill  valley,  and  found  it  entirely  feasible,  and  a 
survey  was  commenced  by  that  eminent  engineer  G.  Gay,  in  the  spring 
of  1852,  and  the  road  located,  and  put  under  contract ;  and  the  work  is 
so  vigorously  prosecuted,  that  it  will  be  ready  for  use  early  in  the  spring 
of  1854. 

This  being  accomplished,  our  friend  was  not  satisfied  to  have  a  road 
which  would  give  them  an  outlet  for  the  Eastern  market,  and  therefore 
associated  himself  with  a  few  influential  friends,  and  bought  a  controlling 
interest  in  what  was  known  as  the  old  Danville  and  Pottsville  Railroad. 
A  new  Board  was  immediately  organized,  of  which  he  is  a  member ;  an 
engineer  was  employed  and  a  survey  made  from  Shamokin  to  Mt.  Carmel, 
in  Northumberland  county ;  and  there  being  no  objections  made  to  the 
route,  active  operations  were  commenced  to  construct  the  road  about  the 
middle  of  October,  1852,  and  prosecuted  with  such  energy,  that  within 
nine  months  from  the  time  of  commencement,  the  old  road  from  Sunbury 
to  Shamokin,  a  distance  of  twenty  miles,  was  completed  and  laid  with  a 
heavy  T  rail,  new  bridges  were  built,  and  eight  miles  of  new  grading 
done.  This  road  was  formally  opened  from  Sunbury  to  Shamokin  in 
August,  1853.  And  when  this  road  is  completed  to  Mt.  Carmel  (which 
will  be  in  the  course  of  a  few  months),  it  will  connect  with  the  railroad 
now  being  constructed  by  the  "  Coal  Run,  Improvement,  &  Railroad 
Company,"  which  will  form  a  connexion  with  the  Catawissa  Railroad 
about  ten  miles  east  of  Mt.  Carmel  ;  thus  giving  a  direct  chain  of  railroad 
communication  from  Sunbury  to  New  York  and  Philadelphia.  We  are 
thus  particular  in  the  statement  of  all  these  facts,  because  our  friend  was 
the  main  instrument  in  originating  these  improvements,  and  which  must 
ultimately  contribute  largely  to  the  advantage  of  those  cities,  into  which 
the  exhaustless  wealth  of  these  mineral  fields  must  flow.  Too  much 
praise  cannot  be  accorded  to  our  friend  for  the  zeal,  tact,  and  energy, 
■which  he  brought  into  this  business,  and  for  the  admirable  manner  in 
which  he  has  managed  all  these  projects.  It  does  not  appertain  to  a 
brief  sketch  like  this  to  detail  the  various  and  formidable  obstacles  which 
had  to  be  surmounted  in  order  to  give  a  tangible  character  to  these 
schemes ;  neither  is  it  necessary,  forasmuch  as  all  great  enterprises  demand 
as  a  recompense,  toil,  arduous  and  difficult  in  proportion  to  tlieir  magni- 
tude, and  the  largeness  of  the  benefits  which  accrue  from  them  to  indi- 
viduals and  communities.  And  the  advantages  which  must  flow  from 
these  enterprises  are  of  such  a  nature  as  to  present  our  friend  in  the  light 
of  a  public  benefactor,  for  he  who  promotes  the  public  good,  directly  or 
indirectly,  is  entitled  to  this  distinction  ;  and  this  development  of  im- 
mense mineral  wealth,  and  guiding  it  into  the  channels  of  commerce,  must 
assuredly  be  regarded  as  a  great  public  blessing.  And  we  are  perfectly 
safe  in  saying  that  the  company  over  which  he  presides  has  the  largest 


JOHN    ANSPACH,    JR.,    OF    PHILADELPHIA,    PA.  315 

amount  of  mineral  wealth  of  any  company  in  the  State,  and  will,  in  the 
course  of  another  year,  have  four  railroad  connexions ;  viz.  the  Catawissa, 
east  and  west,  the  Mine  Hill  and  Schuylkill  Haven  Railroad  Company, 
east,  and  Sunbury  and  Philadelphia,  west. 

Of  this  immense  estate,  Mr.  Anspach  is  the  owner  of  nearly  one  half, 
besides  other  tracts  exclusively  his  own.  Besides  this  the  writer  knows 
that  he  has  a  large  amount  of  real  estate  in  Philadelphia,  and  is  a  large 
stockholder  in  various  companies  and  banking  institutions.  There  are 
many  highly  respectable  citizens  of  Philadelphia,  who,  with  the  writer  of 
this  tribute  of  regard,  have  known  him  for  many  years,  and  with  whom 
he  has  had  large  business  transactions,  who  will  unite  in  bearing  testi- 
mony to  his  irreproachable  character,  and  who  number  him  among  our 
most  esteemed  and  excellent  of  citizens. 

It  is  moreover  worthy  of  remark  that  to  his  great  business  talents  there 
is  joined  a  generous  and  benevolent  nature.  His  sympathies  and  exer- 
tions range  not  within  the  narrow  circle  of  self,  for  his  heart  is  not  cold 
and  contracted,  but  beats  in  unison  with  a  laboring  world.  He  seems 
conscious  of  the  responsible  trust  which  is  committed  to  his  control.  He 
is  a  kind  husband  and  exemplary  father,  and  his  heart  is  the  home  of 
lofty  and  generous  friendships. 

Having  followed  our  friend  through  a  period  of  twenty  years,  we  are 
amazed  at  the  results  which  lie  before  us.  His  is  a  history  full  of  thrill- 
ing and  instructive  incidents.  It  seems  more  like  romance  than  reality, 
that  fifty  dollars  perhaps,  the  whole  amount  he  brought  to  our  city,  should 
in  twenty  years  have  grown  into  millions.  What,  we  may  well  ask,  is 
the  secret  of  this  prosperity  ?  Apart  from  those  mental  and  moral  resour- 
ces which  lie  at  the  foundation  of  great  and  permanent  prosperity,  and 
without  which  none  can  rise  to  eminence  in  his  vocation,  I  would  give  for 
the  encouragement  of  other  young  men,  between  whom  and  fortune  there 
rise  mountains  of  difficulty,  a  declaration  which  I  once  heard  from  my 
friend.  "  I  entered,"  said  he,  "  upon  business  with  a  good  character,  and 
a  spirit  which  never  knew  what  it  was  to  fail  in  a  project  undertaken  ; 
and  my  policy  has  always  been  strict  honesty,  and  close  attention  to  my 
business,  which  I  prosecuted  with  an  humble  reliance  upon  God  for  his 
blessing,  fully  assured  that  Divine  providence  would  give  such  increase  as 
might  be  most  conducive  to  my  advantage." 

Let  young  men  copy  such  examples,  if  they  would  enjoy  lasting  pros- 
perity, and  obtain  a  good  character. 

In  the  character  of  our  friend  we  have  a  striking  illustration  of  the 
value  of  early  intellectual  and  moral  culture,  for  already  in  the  nursery 
there  is  imparted  to  the  mind  an  impulse  and  governing  influence  which 
will  shape  man's  destiny  through  life,  and  vibrate  in  all  his  actions.  But 
in  him  we  have  also  an  illustration  of  the  blessings  of  our  civil  institu- 
tions, under  whose  fostering  care  and  influence  men  may  ascend  to  any 
elevation  or  position  of  power  to  which  the  force  of  their  genius  can  carry 
them. 

Let  it  also  be  remembered  that  our  friend  is  in  the  vigor  of  life,  scarcely 
forty  years  of  age.  Should  he  be  spared  to  the  ordinary  period,  where 
the  constitution  is  unimpaired  and  the  health  firm,  what  may  he  not  yet 
accomplish  ?  There  are  no  longer  the  difficulties  which  clustered  around 
the  incipient  stages  of  business  to  be  overcome ;  all  these  obstacles  have 


316  SKETCHES    OF    EMINENT    AMERICANS. 

been  met  and  conquered.  Like  the  rivulet  wliich  was  formed  by  the 
fountain  in  the  solitudes  of  the  wilderness,  remains  unobserved  in  its  strug- 
gles over  and  through  its  rocky  barriers,  but  gathers  strength  as  it  pro- 
gresses, until  at  length  it  bursts  forth  into  the  valley  the  full  formed  river, 
and  flows  onward  in  its  magnificence,  so  do  we  here  observe  a  mind 
which  has  surmounted  all  hindrances  to  acquisition,  and  is  now  on  the 
open  field  of  prosperity.  May  the  river  be  as  was  the  fountain,  clear,  re- 
freshing, and  exhaustless,  flowing  over  the  plains  of  humanity,  fertihzing 
and  beautifying  wherever  it  winds  its  endless  course.  A  grandeur  gathers 
about  the  mind,  which  occupies  a  position  of  influence,  and  which  is 
girded  with  power.  If  the  subject  of  this  brief  memoir  continues  to  che- 
rish the  principles  which  have  hitherto  controlled  him  in  his  private,  social, 
business  and  religious'^fe,  of  which  we  have  no  apprehensions  that  he  will 
not,  there  will  doubtless  yet  be  such  an  enlargement  of  his  successes  as 
will  issue  in  great  good  to  his  day  and  generation.  But  we  will  clos« 
this  imperfect  sketch  of  a  character  which  the  muse  of  history  may  yet 
incorporate  in  her  ample  and  durable  page. 


'^■IC.Bmire&ma.'O^^ 


'.'/<'  CJZdJiLESTOIir,     scum  CAROLINA 


Smirai/Bd/iir.3uigmphuaLSheea!M  oflhm/unc  ^nvcricari^ 


ABBOTT    HALL    BRISBANE,    OF    CHARLESTON,    S.    C.  SlT 

GENERAL    ABBOTT   HALL  BRISBANE, 

OF    CHARLESTON,  S.  C. 

A  GLANCE  at  the  accompanying  portrait  will  satisfy  the  beholder  that 
the  original  belongs  to  that  class  of  men  "  who  dare  to  do." 

One  might  almost  be  induced  to  believe,  that  this  trait  was  so  strongly 
marked,  that  General  Brisbane's  daring  might  border  on  rashness  ;  but 
this  has  not  been  the  case  in  the  history  of  his  life.  A  West  Point  edu- 
cation, where  the  basis  is  emphatically  rnathematic,  tended  early  to 
modify  the  natural  characteristics  of  the  man,  and  to  substitute  for  rash- 
ness, a  most  indefatigable  zeal  in  the  establishment  of  principles,' upon 
which  an  ardent  temperament  inight  sustain  itself  Later  in  life,  this 
temperament  was  farther  checked  by  his  adoption  of  the  strict  discipline 
of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  ;  and  at  the  present  day,  when  the  ardor 
of  youth  has  yielded  to  the  maturity  of  age,  there  is  no  one  who,  on  the 
most  trying  occasions,  discovers  a  more  calm  determination  or  a  more 
indomitable  will. 

But  however  dangerous  enthusiasm  may  be  in  the  leading  traits  of 
the  business  man,  however  well  it  may  be  balanced  by  sound  judgment, 
there  is  something  still  wanting  to  render  it  essentially  useful.  This  is 
bravery.  Here,  too,  the  subject  of  our  sketch  is  indebted  to  his  nature 
as  well  as  early  associations.  We  believe  that  he  belongs  to  the  fifth 
generation  of  an  emigrant  stock  that  removed  to  America  from  the 
borders  of  Scotland ;  the  Clyde  being  the  place  of  residence  at  the  pre- 
sent day  of  the  noble  European  branch.  Now,  among  these  border  men, 
there  is  still  an  old  saying,  "  That  Scotland  would  never  want  for  defend- 
ers as  long  as  her  hills  and  her  Brisbanes  remained  to  her."  But  what 
is  inherent  bravery,  or  a  West  Point  education,  if  these  traits  be  not  sus- 
tained by  moral  restraint  ?  The  ardor  of  a  brave,  enthusiastic  man, 
wears  out  his  energies,  by  exposing  him  to  a  thousand  unnecessary  toils 
and  trials  :  he  is  ever  before  the  public,  ever  the  victim  of  an  insatiate 
zeal.  Without  a  firm  determination  to  master  earth's  ambitions  by 
heaven's  eternal  rewards,  the  enthusiast  is  almost  universally  an  object 
of  compassion  rather  than  of  emulation.  This  mastery.  General  Brisbane 
evinces  in  the  most  striking  manner.  Living  beyond  his  generation, 
through  the  force  of  an  exuberant  imagination  fed  by  an  excessive  intel- 
lectual induction,  most  of  his  plans  are  consummated  years  after  their 
projection,  and  when  his  agency  in  their  origin  is  far  beyond  the  memory 
of  his  compeers.  But  this  appears  to  weigh  nothing  with  the  originator. 
It  is  enough  for  him  that  he  has  lived  and  labored,  and  that  his  genera- 
tion are  the  better  for  his  efforts :  his  award  is  beyond  the  exigency  of 
the  execution. 

But  enough  on  the  abstract  qualities  of  the  man  ;  we  must  endeavor 
now,  by  a  rapid  sketch  of  his  history,  to  show  his  claims  as  their  practical 
illustrator.  Graduated  in  1825  at  the  Federal  military  school,  he  was 
detached  from  the  Artillery,  to  which  arm  he  was  promoted,  to  serve, 
first,  in  the  Topographical  Bureau  at  Washington,  and  shortly  afterwards,, 
under  the  great  Engineer  Bernard,  on  the  southern  coast  of  the  Atlantic. 


318  SKETCHES    OF    EMINENT    AMERICANS. 

Our  young  engineer  soon  found,  in  the  associations  of  the  great,  the  true 
source  of  greatness ;  and  he  suffered  no  impression,  coming  from  the 
Frenchman,  to  be  lost  upon  the  character  of  the  youthful  American.  Two 
years  of  active  field  service  ended  the  examination  of  the  Florida  penin- 
sula, and  the  corps  to  which  Lieutenant  Brisbane  was  attached,  having 
been  ordered  to  Washington  to  prepare  their  maps,  he  was  enabled  to 
renew  his  former  intimacies,  and  through  the  agency  of  General  Macomb, 
to  obtain  a  furlough  to  visit  Europe,  where  he  proposed  a  tour  for  pro- 
fessional improvement.  It  was  here  that  his  peculiar  characteristic  first 
exhibited  itself.  Entangled  in  the  exciting  literature  of  the  French 
school,  he  was  soon  lost  to  the  severer  inquiries  of  his  immediate  pursuit. 
But  this  was  not  all.  The  career  of  the  military  man  became  too  con- 
tracted for  the  ambition  of  the  young  American  citizen  :  he  must  impress 
himself  upon  his  day  and  generation  through  victories  achieved  in  the 
broad  field  of  civil  life.  The  decision  was  no  sooner  made  than  he  pre- 
pared himself  to  carry  it  into  effect.  There  was  but  one  way  to'  do  this 
for  a  man  born  to  be  a  soldier.  It  was  to  resign  while  away  from  the 
actual  duties  of  the  service.  But  he  had  neglected  the  obligation  imposed 
upon  him  by  the  Secretary  of  War  in  obtaining  his  leave  of  absence.  To 
meet  this  second  difficulty,  his  delicate  sense  of  justice  required  that  he 
should  date  his  resignation  back  to  the  period  of  his  furlough,  and  thus, 
as  he  expressed  it  to  a  friend,  "  I  have  not  used  a  dollar  of  the  people's 
money  that  I  have  not  rendered  actual  service  for."  The  despatch  was 
made  out,  and  young  Brisbane  found  himself  away  from  home,  away 
from  friends ;  destitute  of  pursuit,  and  almost  destitute  of  means.  A 
younger  brother,  travelling  with  him,  became  anxious  for  his  future  des- 
tiny, and  alluded  to  his  necessary  separation,  in  the  struggles  of  life,  from 
the  high-born  youths  with  whom  he  had  been  accustomed  to  associate. 
'The  conversation  became  excited,  and  to  describe  the  character  of  the 
man,  and  the  state  to  which  such  a  character  is  exposed  from  the  dangerous 
cause  to  which  we  have  alluded,  we  give  its  conclusion.  "  I  despise  your 
inferences.  I  despise  the  source  from  whence  you  draw  them :  your 
reverence  for  birth.  I  claim  a  purer  source  :  a  source,  though  gushing 
from  the  highland  peak,  shall  ne'er  lay  stagnant  on  the  lowland  plain." 
And  well  has  the  young  republican  vindicated  his  youthful  bravado  :  he 
dared  to  throw  himself  on  his  own  resources,  and  he  has  found  them 
amply  sufficient  for  all  the  exigencies  of  practical  life. 

Arrived  at  home,  young  Brisbane  collected  together  the  remains  of  a 
small  estate  bequeathed  him  by  a  paternal  uncle,  and  was  at  once 
immersed  in  all  the  mysteries  of  the  agricultural  pursuit.  His  limited 
farm  soon  acquired  the  title  which  the  French  attach  to  their  improved 
husbandry,  the  "ferme  ornee ;"  and  a  wife,  the  daughter  of  the  distin- 
guished historical  painter  of  South  Carolina,  John  Blake  White,  the 
woman  of  all  others  best  suited  for  our  young  enthusiast,  the  most 
determined  in  disposition,  yet  the  most  elevated  in  soul,  soon  gave  to  the 
domestic  hearthstone,  a  pledge  of  their  mutual  affection,  sorely  tried  by 
his  absence  first,  and  then  his  intemperate  zeal  in  his  well  nigh  unexplored 
field  of  industrial  endeavor. 

But  Carolina  was  not  then  prepared  for  peaceful  pursuits ;  the  political 
contest  with  the  Federal  government  had  commenced  on  the  part  of  the 
sovereign  state,  and  no  sooner  had  the  young  farmer  attached  himself  to 


ABBOTT    HALL    BRISBANE,    OF    CHARLESTON,    S.    C.  319 

the  plough,  than  the  voice  of  war  called  upon  him  for  a  new  exhibition 
of  his  characteristic  "  dare  to  do."  The  most  distinguished  young  men 
of  the  state  were  indissolubly  bound  to  the  cause  of  "  state  rights,"  or 
"  nullification,"  as  it  was  then  called.  An  imposing  delegate  from  this 
body  soon  found  out  the  young  West  Point  graduate,  now  enrolled  in 
the  militia  service  of  the  state,  as  adjutant  of  a  county  regiment.  The 
question  of  sides  was  put  in  the  most  direct  manner,  and  the  answer 
returned  in  an  equally  laconic  style.  "  I  am  for  a  hundred  years'  ex- 
periment of  the  great  principle  of  self-government ;  we  have  scarcely  gone 
through  with  fifty  of  them."  It  was  enough ;  his  political  position  was 
fixed  ;  the  eUve  of  the  Federal  school  must  be  federal ;  and  from  that 
day  all  connexion  with  him  was  cut  oft",  as  far,  at  least,  as  the  chivalry  of 
the  state  was  concerned. 

This  only  gave  our  young  farmer  the  better  opportunity  to  examine 
the  material  of  which  the  conservative  party  of  the  state  was  composed  • 
and  when  that  party  was  called  into  convention,  to  decide  upon  its  proper 
course,  in  view  of  that  of  the  opposition,  he  was  among  its  members. 
But  here  again  the  same  difficulty  presented  itself;  the  young  politician 
was  beyond  the  older  heads  in  council.  When  the  committee  was  selected 
to  discuss  the  possibility  of  bringing  constitutional  measui'es  to  bear  upon 
Mr.  Calhoun's  "  constitutional  nullification,"  he  had  already  settled  in  his 
own  mind,  that  the  state  was  in  an  attitude  of  revolution ;  and  that  the 
only  true  course  to  be  pursued,  was  for  the  federal  party  to  assume  a 
corresponding  attitude.  Little  accustomed  to  the  prudential  department, 
as  it  may  be  called,  of  conventional  bodies,  the  young  freeman  rose  among 
some  two  to  three  hundred  candidates,  and  denounced  any  other  propo- 
sition as  "pusillanimous,  and  unworthy  the  consideration  of  a  community 
of  freeborn  Ainericans."  The  state  rights  nullifiers  had  dubbed  his 
federalism  as  of  the  West  Point  school :  the  federal  party  now  attached 
the  epithet  of  "  firebrandism"  to  the  same  school.  But  the  young  coun- 
sellor was  only  too  precipitate,  shall  we  call  it  ?  we  would  say,  too  honest 
for  the  occasion.  It  required  some  month  or  two  after  the  convention 
adjourned,  without  doing  anything  for  the  Sturgers,  the  Petigmes,  and 
the  Poinsetts,  to  see  the  subject  in  the  same  light ;  and  to  designate  the 
last  of  these  great  men  to  head  the  "  union  party"  as  it  was  then  called, 
as  an  organized  military  corps.  Our  now  youthful  statesman  had  retired 
from  public  life.  The  failure  of  his  first  test  of  "  the  great  self-governing 
people,"  was  a  decided  blow  to  his  patriotism ;  and  it  was  only  when  the 
reaction,  to  which  we  have  alluded,  had  taken  place,  and  the  post  of 
captain  oftered  him  in  the  revolutionary  ranks,  that  he  could  be  induced 
to  leave  his  retirement.  In  the  capacity  of  partisan  chief  over  an  exten- 
sive area  of  country,  he  acquired  a  high  reputation ;  and  had  the  fatal 
strife,  which  would  have  taken  place,  had  his  counsels  not  prevailed, 
actually  done  so,  his  head  would  have  been  the  first  to  pay  the  forfeiture. 

But  the  nullification  of  1832  proved,  in  the  end,  a  good  school  for  the 
young  republican.  It  taught  him  that  the  people  were  the  dupes,  and, 
in  the  language  of  the  wily  Machiavelli,  never  wanted  dupers  to  impose 
upon  them.  To  instruct  the  people,  became  a  passion  with  him.  At  the 
first  Brigade  encampment,  established  by  the  state  of  South  Carolina  in 
these  martial  times,  although  a  simple  lieutenant  in  lineal  rank,  he  was 
detailed  by  General  Hamilton,  under  the  sanction  of  Governor  McDuffie, 


320  SKETCHES    OF    EMINENT    AMERICANS. 

ns  commander  of  the  camp,  and  drill-master  of  the  field.  In  these  ap- 
pointments, he  acquitted  himself  so  well,  that  his  young  comrades,  on 
their  part,  made  him  a  present  of  a  handsome  sword,  and  Governor 
McDufiie,  on  the  call  for  volunteers  for  the  Florida  service,  accepted  his 
application  as  Colonel  of  the  South  Carolina  infantry  regiment.  We 
have  only  room  to  say,  that  in  the  early  campaigns  of  this  tiresome  war, 
no  officer  of  similar  grade  acquired  more  eclat,  if  we  except  Colonel 
Smith  of  the  Louisiana  regiment;  and  even  he.  General  Scott  would  say, 
must  fain  look  out  for  the  young  South  Carolina  Hotspur. 

And  well  might  the  commanding  general  have  applied  this  term.  One 
incident  of  the  campaign  will  suffice  to  illustrate  this. 

Upon  the  general  movement  of  the  troops  from  Valusia,  where  they 
had  been  concentrated,  an  advance  guard  of  several  companies  had  been 
thrown  across  the  St.  John's  early  in  the  morning,  and  were  engaged  in 
keeping  the  dense  hammock  of  the  opposite  bank  from  being  occupied  by 
the  savages.  Among  these  companies  was  one  from  the  regiment  of 
Colonel  Brisbane.  This  regiment  had  received  orders  to  cross  the  river, 
and  was  moving  in  detachments  from  its  encampment  for  this  purpose, 
when  the  shrill  whistle  of  the  rifle  reached  the  ear  of  its  commanding 
officer.  Surrounded  by  his  staff  at  the  time  (a  body  of  young  men 
selected  from  the  most  energetic  of  the  entire  state),  he  was  inspecting 
the  last  companies  as  they  filed  past  him  to  the  point  of  embarkation. 
The  well  known  sound  of  the  Indian  rifle,  its  quick  and  rapid  discharge, 
and  the  position  'of  the  guard,  satisfied  him  that  it  was  a  doomed  body 
unless  instantly  relieved.  His  mind  was  made  up.  "  Young  gentlemen, 
we  must  save  the  advanced  guard,"  was  the  exclamation,  and  hastening 
to  the  river  bank,  he  was  in  the  act  of  springing  into  a  skiff,  which  his 
staff  had  prepared,  when  General  Eustis,  in  command  of  the  Eastern 
division  of  the  army,  and  who  had  reached  the  river  at  the  same  moment, 
peremptorily  commanded  him  to  return  to  his  regiment,  form  it,  and 
await  farther  orders.  "And  what,  sir,"  demanded  the  determined  young 
officer,  "  will  you  suffer  your  guard  to  be  butchered  by  the  savages  ?  J 
will  relieve  it,  if  you  will  permit  me." 

The  appeal  was  too  powerful.  Although  tlie  opposite  bank  was  being 
crowded  by  those  who  were  flying  from  the  point  of  conflict,  and  by  the 
wounded,  who  spared  no  pains  to  exaggerate  the  condition  of  those  left 
behind  them,  (jleneral  Eustis  saw  the  importance  of  the  movement,  and 
yielded  to  the  colonel  and  his  staft',  who,  in  a  few  minutes  after,  were 
making  their  way  through  the  dense  forest,  directed  by  the  sound  of  the 
rifle,  and  the  yells  of  the  savages. 

It  was  as  he  expected.  The  guard  had  huddled  on  the  cleared  ground 
which  they  had  made  in  the  midst  of  the  thicket,  and  each  ball  of  the 
enemy  was  passing  through  the  entire  mass  of  the  disorganized  soldiery. 
Fortunately  for  our  resolute  little  band,  one  of  the  companies  who  had 
been  crossed  earlier  in  the  day,  was  just  at  hand,  and  taking  command  of 
this  opportune  force.  Colonel  Brisbane  was  enabled  to  deploy  upon  the 
plateau  of  cleared  land  ;  but  here  was  his  point  of  difficulty.  What  power 
was  there  to  move  forward  this  mass  of  material,  almost  as  alarmed  as  the 
unfortunate  guard  ?  An  order  to  "  extend,"  with  a  view  to  scour  the 
hammock  before  them,  and  at  the  point  of  the  bayonet,  was  only 
obeyed  by  every  man  following  close  upon  the  lieels  of  the  captain  who 


ABBOTT    HALL    BRISBANE,    OF    CHARLESTON,    S.    C.  321 

led  the  flank  movement.  To  lialt  them,  bring  them  back,  and  repeat  the 
manceuvre,  was  all  that  was  apparently  left  the  commanding  officer.  But 
not  so  ;  we  have  said  that  Colonel  Brisbane  was  a  graduate  of  West  Point ; 
farther,  that  he  was  born  a  soldier.  Scott's  system  of  tactics  had  been 
carefully  studied  by  him,  and  if  he  was  to  prove  his  mettle  as  a  true  war- 
rior born,  now  was  the  fit  occasion.  Doubling  his  grasp  upon  a  heavy  two- 
handed  sabre  which  had  been  presented  him  upon  his  leaving  Charleston, 
he  cried  out  to  his  staft",  who  were  exerting  themselves  to  encourage  the 
troops,  "  Young  gentlemen,  Scott  says  the  file  closers  were  not  made  for 
ornament,"  and  with  the  word  came  the  deed ;  and  not  only  on  the  part 
of  their  commander,  but  of  the  gallant  young  spirits  who  had  followed 
him,  blow  after  blow  succeeded  in  rapid  succession  upon  the  shoulders 
of  the  troops;  while  the  staff  officers,  seizing  the  muskets  of  the  line, 
sprang  through  it,  and  discharging  them  into  the  faces  of  the  foe,  soon 
buried  themselves  with  it  in  tlie  fastnesses  of  the  forest.  The  rank  and 
file  could  not  stand  this  double  appeal.  Rushing  forward  with  a  yell,  tho 
scouring  process  of  General  Jackson  was  fully  put  in  practice,  and  tho 
hammock  of  Valusia  cleared  of  its  wily  occupant. 

But  our  anecdote  must  not  stop  here,  to  do  full  justice  to  our  subject. 
When  the  swamp  lands  had  been  passed,  and  the  detachment  rallied  upon 
the  clearing  beyond,  it  would  be  rational  to  suppose  that  rejoicings  rather 
than  murmurings  would  have  been  the  exhibitions  on  the  occasion  ;  but 
not  so  for  him  who  knows  the  true  secret  of  the  citizen  soldier's  prowess 
on  the  embattled  field.  It  is  his  individual  sense  of  honor  that  impels 
him — his  individuality,  his  birthright  as  a  freeman.  Colonel  Brisbane  had 
struck  them ;  and  although,  for  the  honor  of  his  country,  and  for  their 
own  honor,  this  was  a  refinement  of  chivalry  that  must  be  taught  them, 
it  at  that  time  was  not  in  their  vocabulary  ;  loud  sobs  and  execrations  wero 
heard,  instead  of  exultation.  The  young  soldier,  worthy  of  the  brightest 
age  of  chivalry,  was  worthy  of  the  task  of  instructor.  Thrusting  the  point 
of  his  sword  into  the  ground,  he  calmly  observed,  "  Fellow  soldiers,  Caro- 
lina sent  us  here  to  drive  these  savages  from  Florida,  and  not  to  quarrel 
among  ourselves;  but  if  quarrels  inust  come,  after  the  campaign,  and 
not  while  engaged  in  it,  must  these  quarrels  be  settled ;  I  differ  from  you, 
however,  as  to  this  whole  matter.  In  times  of  old,  our  Teutonic  ancestors 
were  dubbed  knights  by  the  flat  of  the  sword,  laid  upon  their  shoulders 
by  their  commanding  chieftains;  have  I  done  more  upon  this  occasion?" 
The  point  of  the  appeal  was  effective  with  a  sufficient  number  of  th© 
command,  to  fill  the  ranks  with  "  huzzas  for  Colonel  Brisbane,  the  gallant 
Colonel  of  the  Carolina  regiment ;"  and  thus  commenced,  instead  of  end- 
ing, the  strong  influence  which  was  possessed  by  him  over  his  own  troops, 
and  the  masses  of  the  campaign  generally. 

On  Colonel  Brisbane's  return  from  Florida,  his  fellow  citizens  soon  re- 
warded him  with  the  rank  of  Brigadier-General.  But  the  honor  of  the 
new  military  appointment  was  not  long  enjoyed  by  the  youthful  Briga- 
dier. The  violence  of  political  contention  in  South  Carolina  had  passed 
away  for  the  time,  and  its  great  leaders  had  entered  the  field,  for  the 
industrial  development  of  the  South.  Gen.  Hayne  was  called  to  the 
Presidency  of  the  "  Charleston  and  Cincinnati  Railroad  ;"  and  among 
the  engineers  appointed  under  him,  Gen.  Brisbane  was  selected  as  a  fit 
person  to  represent  the  State  of  South  Carolina.     Having  lost  his  only 

VOL.  III.  21 


322  SKETCHES    OF    EMINENT    AMERICANS, 

child,  and  suffering  from  the  depression  of  a  wife,  "  who  would  not  be 
comforted,  because  her  son  was  no  more."  He  gladly  seized  upon  the 
opportunity  to  leave  the  seclusion  of  the  country,  and  in  a  short  time 
became  noted  in  the  noble  field  of  engineer  reconnoissance.  But  if  the 
farmer  had  encountered  difliculties  in  impressing  new  principles  of  poli- 
tical science  upon  his  fellow  citizens  generally,  the  engineer  was  not  less 
tired  in  impressing  new  truths  in  industrial  economy  upon  those  intrusted 
with  the  internal  improvements  of  the  day.  But  heie,  too,  our  daring 
man  was  equally  conspicuous  in  the  discharge  of  his  duties.  Sent  into 
Georgia  to  explore  the  passes  of  the  Blue  ridge,  he  soon  found  the  Rabun 
gap  the  true  outlet  and  inlet  to  the  trade  of  the  West ;  and  prepared  a 
report  on  this  mountain  pass,  to  be  submitted  by  General  Hayne  to  the 
convention  about  to  assemble  at  the  city  of  Kuoxville.  This  report  was 
attempted  to  be  ignored  by  that  body ;  and  Gen.  Brisbane,  an  engineer, 
and  not  a  delegate,  was  compelled  to  seek  the  aid  of  the  Georgia  repre- 
sentation, in  vindication  of  the  claims  of  this  noted  highway.  Geoi'gia 
did  act,  but  its  action  was  that  of  a  State,  maddened  by  the  conduct  of 
a  sister  State ;  and,  withdrawing  from  the  convention,  she  sought  a  path- 
way to  the  great  Mississippi  valley,  some  hundred  miles  south  of  the 
point  contended  for,  by  an  engineer,  who  could  not  forget  that  while  he 
was  engaged  in  the  industrial  service  of  the  south,  its  political  service 
was  not  less  involved  in  the  great  issue  before  him.  South  Carolina  and 
Georgia,  united  upon  the  Rabun  pass,  would  have  built  a  work,  cement- 
ing the  entire  south-east  with  the  entire  north-west — it  was  the  diagonal 
route  of  the  whole  system  of  continental  improvement,  and  upon  it 
rested  all  the  hopes  of  the  enthusiastic  Carolina  representative.  But,  as 
in  the  case  of  the  Columbia  assembly,  where,  as  a  boy  comparatively,  he 
had  been  forced  to  declare  himself  against  the  counsels  of  the  entire  con- 
vention, so  here,  on  this  industrial  question,  was  he  equally  decided. 
Representing  to  General  Hayne  the  irreparable  injury  he  had  done  to 
the  cause  of  the  South  ;  and  farther,  the  delay  which  he  would  occasion 
the  development  of  the  resources  of  his  native  city,  he  requested  him  to 
accept  his  resignation  from  the  service  of  the  State  of  South  Carolina. 
Well  might  the  prudent  have  repeated  here  their  wail  over  an  issue 
between  the  young  man  and  the  veteran  of  a  thousand  fields  of  success- 
ful warfare.  The  result,  however,  was  not  long  in  suspense.  Before  the 
surveys  of  the  Carolina  route  were  completed,  and  completed  but  to  ex- 
plode the  whole  enterprise,  the  "  Western  and  Atlantic  railroad"  of 
Georgia  had  broken  through  the  chief  barrier  to  its  progress  to  the  west : 
the  Altona  heights  had  been  picked  through  by  the  very  race  who  for 
centuries  had  employed  them  as  their  hunting  grounds.  It  is  asserted 
that  the  energies  of  Gen.  Brisbane,  exhibited  as  constructive  engineer  of 
that  great  woik,  would  recognise  no  barrier  to  its  successful  prosecution : 
Indian  labor,  questionable  as  it  was  supposed,  was  not  permitted  to 
escape  him.  For  the  four  years  that  he  was  employed  by  the  State  of 
Georgia  on  her  mountain  passes,  some  three  millions  of  dollars  were 
voted  by  her  to  effect  their  passage  ;  and  this  heavy  expenditure,  at  that 
day,  was  entirely  attributable  to  the  untiring  industry  of  her  constructive 
engineer.  But  the  successful  operation  of  the  "  Western  and  Atlantic 
railroad"  is  not  the  only  vindication  of  the  propriety  of  Gen.  Brisbane's 
bold  stand  at  the  Knoxville  Convention.     While  his  own  State,  with 


ABBOTT    HALL    BRISBANE,    OF    CHARLESTON,    S.    C.  323 

Georgia,  has  for  years  enjoyed  the  benefits  of  this  common  highway, 
through  the  territory  of  the  hitter,  the  Rabun  pass  is  now,  after  a  lapse  of 
sixteen  years,  re-established  as  the  essential  avenue  to  the  great  West. 

Our  engineer's  services  in  Georgia  were  not  confined  to  the  state 
road.  While,  by  this  work,  the  South  Atlantic  seaboard  was  to  be  made 
to  grasp  the  great  demand  market  of  the  West,  there  must  be  another 
constructed,  that  would  seize  the  great  supply  market  of  the  South.  If 
properly  managed,  a  million  of  bales  of  cotton  could  be  concentrated 
upon  the  Atlantic  terminus  of  a  road  which  should  traverse  due  west 
throuofh  the  cotton  district  of  this  region. 

The  first  link  in  this  important  structure  had  been  laid  down  by  his 
distinguished  chief.  Gen.  Bernard,  as  the  "  Ockmulgee  and  Flint  railroad," 
and  under  his  auspices  a  charter  had  been  granted  by  the  State  of 
Georgia.  Possessing  himself  of  this  charter,  through  the  confidence  of 
the  original  grantee,  the  Hon.  Thomas  Spalding  of  Darien,  he  planned, 
through  the  then  wild  of  the  west,  a  road,  that  should  be  self  construct- 
ing :  in  other  words,  he  worked  for  its  intrinsic  value  by  the  immediate 
operation.  But  who  would  assist  him?  There  was  but  one  man  then 
living,  who  could  realize  the  true  grandeur  of  the  design,  and  at  the 
same  time  contribute  to  its  successful  prosecution.  This  was  the  Right 
Reverend  John  England,  the  Catholic  Bishop  of  Charleston.  With  this 
great  man,  Gen.  Brisbane  was  bound  in  iniimacy,  through  the  Catholic 
communion,  to  which  we  have  before  alluded.  After  due  consultation, 
the  engineer  was  to  provide  the  means  of  support,  and  the  science  neces- 
sary to  the  construction  ;  and  for  every  able-bodied  black  laborer  that 
the  planters  would  place  upon  the  line,  as  a  voucher  of  their  confidence, 
the  Bishop  would  provide  an  equally  able-bodied  white  laborer,  who 
should  entertain  all  the  interest  in  the  work,  necessary  to  its  efficient 
prosecution.  A  company  was  formed  upon  this  principle,  and  its  early 
operations  promised  every  assurance  of  success.  But  what  can  with- 
stand, in  the  southern  country,  a  fall  in  cotton;  and  still  worse  for  the 
enterprise,  who  was  to  supply  the  place  of  Bishop  England,  taken  away 
at  the  most  critical  juncture  by  premature  death.  We  may  attempt  to 
estimate  the  energy  expended  in  the  design  and  organization  of  this 
singular  undertaking ;  we  may  form  some  idea  of  the  effort  which  it 
cost  in  its  accomplishment  thus  far ;  but  these  were  nothing  to  the 
achievements  of  the  projector  on  this  trying  occasion.  The  cotton  panic, 
he  knew,  would  soon  pass  :  the  planters,  who  were  now  ruined  by  it, 
would  soon  be  succeeded  by  others  who  would  supply  their  place ;  but 
who  was  there,  we  repeat,  to  fill  up  the  void  occasioned  by  the  death  of 
Bishop  England  ?  Already  was  this  prelate  busily  engaged  in  planning 
stations  for  the  religious  instruction  of  the  vast  body  of  African  laborers, 
inhabiting  the  extensive  cotton  district  through  which  the  road-line 
passed.  He  had  been  commissioner  for  the  Roman  Pontiff  to  the  Hay- 
tian  Islands,  and  had  long  determined,  from  the  character  of  its  popula- 
tion, that  the  black  man  could  alone  acquire  a  knowledge  of  Almighty 
God,  through  his  servitude  to  the  white  man  ;  and  within  the  neighbor- 
hood of  Charleston,  his  teaching  had  impressed  such  confidence  upon 
the  masters,  that  its  rural  districts  were  already  being  supplied  with 
churches  ;  and  he  was  the  more  solicitous  of  extending  his  system 
through  the  similar  districts  of  Georgia,  destitute  as  they  were  at  the 


824  SKETCHES    OF    EMINENT    AMERICANS. 

time  of  any  kind  of  religious  instruction.  But  the  dead  cannot  accom- 
plish designs  ;  and  the  successors  of  the  dead,  even  where  they  represent 
conventional  functions,  are  not  always  at  hand  to  supply  their  places. 
In  the  present  instance,  some  two  or  three  years  might  intervene  between 
the  death  of  Bishop  England  and  the  appointment  of  his  successor. 
Gen.  Brisbane's  daring  and  decision  of  character  met  these  accumulated 
diflBculties  in  the  following  manner.  Hastening  to  Charleston,  he  asso- 
ciated with  him  a  few  friends,  and  with  a  sufficient  fund,  came  into  the 
land  market  of  Georgia,  to  purchase  up  the  right  of  way  of  the  rail- 
road at  least,  but  if  possible,  to  add  to  his  property  in  the  road  a  suffi- 
cient landed  estate,  to  sustain  it  in  its  future  exigences.  This  object 
attained,  he  proposed  to  the  leading  merchants  of  Charleston  to  extend 
a  common  interest  with  Savannah  to  this  common  road  at  least ;  and 
through  their  aid,  effected  a  credit,  which  he  trusted  would  enable  him 
to  encounter  the  pecuniary  embarrassment  to  which  he  was  exposed. 
With  a  view  to  a  substitute  for  the  deceased  bishop,  the  Right  Reverend 
Bishop  Hughes,  now  Archbishop  of  New  York,  was  selected  by  him  as 
the  proper  person ;  and  it  is  no  small  addition  to  the  achievements  of 
our  diplomatist,  that  he  at  once  acquired  the  confidence  of  that  dis- 
tinguished prelate.  He  obtained  from  him  not  only  the  moral  confidence 
necessary  to  the  conduct  of  so  delicate  an  operation,  but  additional 
pecuniary  aid,  with  which  to  relieve,  to  a  certain  extent,  the  burden  of 
the  exclusive  stock  system.  This  proved  a  fatal  error.  The  idea  was 
circulated,  that  the  current  of  northern  capital  had  been  diverted  to  the 
enterprise,  and  to  secure  cash  payments,  they  had  only  to  press  upon  its 
devoted  conductor.  A  struggle  for  some  months  ensued,  when  the  entire 
operation  was  obliged  to  be  abandoned  ;  and  it  is  only  now,  that,  by  the 
untiring  zeal  of  Gen.  Brisbane,  it  is  hoped  it  will  be  resumed  under 
more  favorable  auspices.  To  construct  seventy-six  miles  of  a  railroad, 
situated  in  a  wild  country,  costing  some  two  hundred  thousand  dollars' 
worth  of  labor,  with  but  fifteen  thousand  dollars  of  cash,  and  with  a 
mixed  service,  such  as  we  have  described,  was  an  achievement  bordering 
on  romance  rather  than  reality.  But  we  relate  it,  to  show  the  almost 
miraculous  powers  of  the  man,  when  thoroughly  aroused,  and  applied  to 
the  control  of  his  fellow  man.  We  do  so,  to  show  farther,  that  moral 
restraint  of  which  we  have  spoken,  and  which  we  claim  as  the  crowning 
characteristic  of  Gen.  Brisbane.  One  would  have  supposed,  that  when 
the  work  was  forced  to  be  abandoned,  the  projector  would  have  fallen 
with  it :  that  his  energies,  exhausted  by  the  effort,  would  have  given 
"way  ;  but  not  so.  Collecting  the  shattered  remains  of  his  available 
means,  he  set  himself  industriously  to  work  to  retrieve  his  fortunes ;  and 
in  the  intervals  of  time  which  he  could  spare  from  actual  labor, 
'  employed  his  mind  in  maturing  the  various  speculations  incident  to  so 
active,  and  at  the  same  time  so  varied  a  life.  This  he  did  through  the 
instrumentality  of  the  romance,  and  a  work,  "  Ralphton,"  on  the  Philo- 
sophy of  Politics,  printed  some  time  after,  shows  the  intensity  of  his 
powers,  but  at  the  same  time  unfortunately  the  want  of  that  high  literary 
polish  so  essential  to  works  of  this  peculiar  kind. 

But  it  was  time  that  General  Brisbane  should  be  recalled  from  his 
distant  labors.  Returning  to  Charleston  on  a  visit  to  his  friends,  he  was 
induced  by  the  authorities  of  his  native  city  to  direct  the  borings  of  au 


ABBOTT    HALL    BRISBANE,    OF    CHARLESTON,    S.    C.  325 

artesian  well ;  a  plan  for  obtaining  water,  calculated  at  once  to  supply 
the  city,  and  to  set  on  foot  a  system  of  irrigation  suited  to  the  character 
of  our  seaboard  country.  With  his  accustomed  zeal  he  undertook  the 
work,  but  after  penetrating  to  the  depth  of  some  three  to  four  hundred 
feet,  was  glad  to  abandon  the  ungracious  task,  for  a  more  agreeable  em- 
ployment which  presented  itself  to  him  at  the  time.  This  was  Professor 
of  Belles  Lettres  in  the  military  academy  of  the  state.  Turning  the 
borings  over  to  an  experienced  operator  from  the  state  of  Alabama,  he 
commenced  to  make  amends  for  his  West  Point  deficiencies,  only  too 
conspicuous  in  his  early  printed  paj)ers.  Five  years  were  spent  in 
establishing  a  Belles  Lettres  chair,  v/hich  is  yet  to  be  appreciated  by 
those  who  are  interested  in  the  subject  of  education.  During  this  period 
our  Professor  was  connected  with  tlie  instruction  of  some  hundred  Caro- 
lina youths ;  and  it  will  only  require  the  necessary  time  for  them  to  ex- 
press themselves  through  the  business  operations  of  life  to  prove  the 
perfect  success  of  his  plan  of  conducting  this  chair. 

But  the  five  years  spent  in  this  apparently  peaceful  retreat  were  any 
thing  but  peaceful  to  our  Professor.  This  we  can  easily  understand 
from  the  condition  of  the  times.  The  revolution  of  1832  was  but  an 
intiodiiction  to  the  revolution  of  1850;  and  the  polit'cal  actor  in  the 
one  could  not  but  busy  himself  in  the  Stirling  occurrences  of  the  other. 
If  General  Brisbane  is  to  live  in  the  page  of  his  country's  history,  it  is 
from  the  part  which  we  now  find  him  acting,  in  this,  its  most  trying 
emergency.  The  question  was  between  the  black  labor  and  the  white 
labor  of  the  American  continent.  The  Mason  and  Dixon  line  divided 
these.  Could  the  Saxon,  living  above  that  line,  and  dependent  upon  his 
own  industry,  he  made  to  affiliate  with  the  Saxon,  living  below  that  line, 
and  dependent  upon  the  industry  of  the  black  man  '  This  was  the  pro- 
blem to  be  solved.  Made  confident  that  there  were  those  at  home  who 
were  doubtful  of  this  necessary  affiliation,  his  first  eflbrt  was  directed  to 
the  home  quarter ;  and  the  fact  of  a  sickly  sentimentality  connected 
with  the  worship  of  the  negro  population,  was  watched  by  him  with  the 
utmost  solicitude.  The  erection  of  separate  churches  for  the  African 
race  was  the  favorite  scheme  of  this  party  ;  and  however  averse  the 
masses  of  the  people,  and  the  spirit  of  the  laws,  to  the  consummation  of 
the  design,  so  powerful  were  the  leaders,  and  so  intemperate  their  zeal, 
that  the  threats  of  the  populace  to  desti-oy  their  works  were  treated  by 
them  as  Red  Republicanism,  and  the  power  of  the  party  concentrated  to 
put  down  the  opposition.  General  Brisbane,  called  by  accident  to  pre- 
side over  the  deliberations  of  the  people,  was  thus  made  a  party  in  the 
contest,  and  quickly  was  his  mind  made  up  to  dispel  for  ever  the  illusion 
under  which  the  whole  south  was  laboring.  Deeply  had  he  studied  the 
subject  of  the  races  :  deeply  had  he  pondered  over  their  history,  as  it 
gradually  realized  the  prophetic  vision  of  their  inspired  progenitor. 
Believing  in  the  revealed  word  of  Almighty  God,  he  sav?  in  the  progeny 
of  Noah  a  divided  brotherhood,  and  yet  a  co-operative  one.  If  the 
sensual  Hamite  was  to  be,  in  the  economy  of  divine  providence,  the 
laborer,  he  was  yet  a  brother,  and  was  hence  entitled  to  all  the  immuni- 
ties of  Christian  brotherhood ;  at  least,  to  the  extent  of  serving  Almighty 
God  at  the  same  altar.  It  was  farther  clear,  that  in  the  sight  of  God, 
this  Christianization  of  the  negro  was  the  only  return   that  the  master 


326  SKETCHES    OF    EMINENT    AMERICANS. 

could  make  to  the  servant ;  the  only  method  by  which  to  elevate  him : 
on  the  other  hand,  to  deprive  him  of  his  religious  communion,  w^as,  so 
to  degrade  him,  as  to  make  his  servitude  a  curse.  Besides,  in  the  history 
of  the  city  of  Charleston,  the  last  sad  catastrophe  that  grew  out  of  the 
relationship  of  the  races  was  occasioned  by  this  distinction  in  their 
worships ;  and  upon  the  recurrence  of  the  same  cause,  the  same  conse- 
quences might  well  be  expected.  The  position  was  a  trying  one.  The 
most  powerful  legal  advice  in  the  city  was  arrayed  in  defence  of  the 
separation ;  General  Brisbane  alone  the  champion  of  the  opposition. 
But  he  was  contending  for  a  whole  race  of  humanity ;  and  more,  for 
the  integrity  of  the  word  of  God  in  relation  to  that  race.  Before  him 
stood  those  who  were  high  in  the  public  confidence ;  but  at  the  same 
time  the  public  themselves  were  there,  to  judge  the  cause  of  their  ai- 
raignment.  Their  champion  was  not  wanting.  Denounced  as  infrac- 
tors of  the  law,  the  question  at  once  arose,  by  whom  was  the  law  made : 
by  the  master  or  by  the  community  at  large  ?  If  the  master,  then  had 
he  a  right  to  separate  himself  from  the  religious  communion  of  his  slave  ; 
if  the  community  as  a  race,  then  were  the  masters  but  agents  of  this 
higher  authority,  and  were  themselves  the  offenders  in  the  premises.  It 
was  too  delicate  a  proposition  for  a  mixed  assembly.  General  Brisbane 
found  that  even  the  most  acute  were  alarmed  at  the  danger  of  arraigning 
a  political  tenure  before  a  religious  obligation.  His  own  friends  trem- 
bled for  the  issue.  If  it  were  not  Red  Republicanism,  it  seemed  at  any 
rate  to  savor  of  that  higher  law  doctrine,  at  the  time  so  prevalent  in  a 
more  northern  latitude.  He  felt  the  difficulty  of  his  position,  and  with 
the  feeling,  lost  the  power  of  dispassionate  discussion.  His  response  to 
the  charge  of  Red  Republicanism  was  denunciatory  in  the  extreme,  and 
cost  him  at  once  the  sympathy  of  the  audience,  but  he  had  at  any  rate 
started  the  question  of  the  religious  tenure  of  the  slave,  as  the  highest 
obligation  of  the  Christian  master  ;  and  not  upon  the  hackneyed  passages 
of  scripture  with  which  the  people  were  perfectly  tired,  but  upon  the 
grand  initial  point  whence  we  date  the  second  coming  of  the  entire 
family  of  man.  Throwing  the  responsibility  of  the  public  safety  upon 
the  municipal  authorities  of  the  day,  he  left  the  agitation  of  the  subject 
for  some  more  propitious  occasion.  The  churches  in  question  were 
built,  but  the  community  are  alive  to  the  conditions  of  their  exist- 
ence, and  so  far  they  have  not  been  offended  against  by  the  parties 
interested. 

Pursuant  to  his  purpose,  the  first  leisure  moments  allowed  him  from 
his  professional  pursuits  were  employed  in  preparing  a  series  of  some 
seven  letters  to  the  Right  Reverend  Bishop  Hughes  of  New  York.  They 
attracted  much  attention,  but  the  Bishop  declining  to  answer  them,  they 
were  followed  by  some  seven  more,  making  a  direct  appeal  through  him 
to  the  council  of  Catholic  Bishops  then  about  to  convene  at  the  city  of 
Baltimore.  Here,  too,  the  novelty  of  the  proposition,  the  danger  of  its 
analysis,  the  inevitable  tendency,  if  pursued,  to  open  issues,  where  there 
was  no  direct  necessity  for  the  decision  of  the  church,  all  led  to  its  sup- 
pression by  that  body.  But  the  result  was  equally  advantageous  to  the 
great  object  of  Gen.  Brisbane.  The  example  of  the  rendition  of  the 
slave,  in  the  case  of  Onesimus,  was  adopted  by  the  whole  college  of 
Bishops  ;  and  we  are  yet  to  learn  if  a  single  Catholic  district  in  the 


ABBOTT    HALL    BRISBANE,    OF    CHARLESTOX,    S.    C.  327 

Union  lias  interfered  with  the  political  dissensions  arising  out  of  the 
slavery  question. 

13ut  this  was  the  slavery  question  in  but  one  point  of  view — the  reli- 
gious;  there  were  two  others,  equally  important  to  its  more  perfect 
understanding,  its  industrial  and  political.  We  have  said  that  in  early 
life  Gen.  Brisbane  became  devotedly  attached  to  the  education  of  the 
peoj)le.  He  had  formed  a  class  of  young  mechanics,  and  at  night,  when 
they  were  relieved  from  the  shops,  instructed  them  gratuitously  in  those 
branches  of  the  mathematics  best  suited  to  their  immediate  pursuits. 
These  youths  were  now  grown  up,  and  filling  prominent  positions  in  the 
various  departments  of  mechanical  industry ;  and  it  was  to  them  that  he 
applied  for  assistance  in  his  present  purpose.  He  had  always  been  in 
favor  of  the  introduction  of  machinery  upon  the  American  continent ; 
and  in  the  tarift'  difficulties  of  1832,  had  published  an  interesting  pam- 
phlet on  the  subject.  But  the  introduction  of  machinery  had,  so  far, 
only  added  to  the  interests  of  the  North  ;  it  was  necessary  that  the  whole 
Union  should  derive  the  advantages  of  this  powerful  adjunct  to  national 
industry.  He  put  forth  the  cardinal  principle  in  the  science  of  indus- 
trial economy,  a  principle  that  will  live  as  long  as  Mr.  Jefferson's  inalien- 
able rights  of  man,  "  that  every  peculiar  district  of  a  country  was  entitled 
to  all  the  values  derivable  from  the  productions  of  its  particular  soil 
and  climate  ;"  and  with  the  impetus  given  to  its  propagation  by  his 
mechanical  friends,  soon  laid  the  foundation  of  the  industrial  institute, 
now  efi'ecting  so  much  good  for  the  interest  of  the  southern  country. 
He  wanted  to  publish  to  the  world  the  effect  of  his  principle,  applied  to 
that  portion  of  the  earth  adapted  to  the  culture  of  cotton,  and  through 
the  labor  of  the  African  slave.  Could  he  do  this,  the  value  derived  by 
the  nothern  states  from  the  working  up  of  the  raw  staple  of  the  south- 
ern, would  open  the  eyes  of  the  former  to  their  gains  through  an  affilia- 
tion with  the  latter,  and  thus  establish  an  industrial  as  well  as  religious 
bond  for  his  Noachic  brotherhood.  His  mind  fixed  upon  Carolina's  now 
greatest  living  son,  the  veteran  Cheves.  By  him  the  proposition  must 
be  announced.  But  age  prevented  his  acceptance  of  the  task  ;  and  the 
next  in  order  of  greatness,  the  distinguished  Ex-Governor  Hammond, 
was  brought  into  the  field.  An  essay,  read  by  him  before  the  institute 
at  its  first  anniversary,  acted  as  a  charm  upon  the  troubled  popular 
element.  The  operators  of  Old  England,  as  well  as  those  of  New  Eng- 
land, felt  the  necessity  of  affiliating  the  two  labors ;  and  in  the  space  of 
a  few  months  after  the  dissemination  of  Governor  Hammond's  essay,  the 
industrial  world  put  on  a  very  different  appearance.  The  black  labor 
productions  of  the  southern  states  were  regarded  as  furnishing  the  great 
baggage  train  to  the  army  of  Saxon  adventurers  now  compassing  the 
civilization  of  the  whole  earth.  Well  might  Noah  have  prayed,  '.'may 
God  enlarge  my  son  Japhet :  may  he  occupy  the  tents  of  Shem :  may 
he  hold  Canaan  in  bondage."     The  florid  race  was  in  the  ascendant. 

But  the  great  end  was  not  yet  accomplished :  the  political  world  was 
still  to  be  consulted.  Gen.  Brisbane  had  two  nieces,  who,  for  the  objects 
of  education  and  a  better  economy,  had  been  removed  by  a  widowed 
mother  to  the  north.  They  had  there  married  two  young  Litchfield 
lawyers,  worthy  of  the  legal  school  in  which  a  Calhoun  had  been  edu- 
cated.    Could  he  get  these  active  young  politicians,  each  belonging  to 


328  SKETCHES    OF    EMINENT    AMERICANS 

a  dift'erent  party,  lo  canvass  the  state  of  Connecticut,  be  felt  certain  from 
the  tone  of  tliat  state,  tliat  lie  would  carry  a  broken  front  into  the  halls 
of  Congress  from  the  New  England  quarter.  His  plan  was,  to  impress 
the  duty  of  state  sovereignty  on  the  lesser  states,  at  least;  and  upon 
Mr.  Callioun's  grand  idea,  that  the  senate,  in  which  they  are  represented, 
is  the  agent  of  the  industry  of  the  country  upon  the  floor  of  political 
Legislation.  He  wrote  an  essay  at  the  same  time  for  the  Irish  Bene- 
volent Society,  and  through  it,  urged  upon  the  New  York  merchants, 
that  should  they  remain  longer  inactive,  the  Calhoun  party  of  the  south 
would  unfurl  the  flag  of  Free  Trade  iVom  the  topmost  standard  of  state 
sovereignty,  and  thus  silence  for  ever  their  commerce,  as  protected  by  the 
political  power  of  the  American  confederacy.  In  fine,  he  denounced 
the  idea,  that  the  wealth  of  the  nation  rested  upon  the  strength  of  a 
consolidated  government,  but  upon  that  of  a  confederated  ;  and  claimed 
as  an  evidence  of  their  advocacy  of  this  principle  that  the  arch-leader 
of  consolidation,  the  Hon.  Wm.  Seward,  should  be  sacrificed  upon  the 
altar  of  New  York  commerce.  In  all  these  plans.  Gen.  Brisbane  appeared 
to  exert  a  vision  almost  prophetic.  Connecticut  sent  but  one  Senator 
to  Washington,  because  her  second  choice  would  not  adopt  the  compro- 
mise ;  the  New  York  press  opeuly  denounced  the  abolitionists  of  the 
North ;  and  the  public  of  that  great  mart  crushed  at  a  single  blow  the 
entire  fabric  of  their  wily  politician. 

But  while  our  Professor  was  working  these  distant  results  from  the 
quiet  of  his  academic  halls,  what  was  he  doing  with  the  excitement  that 
raged  without  them  at  home  ;  wl.'at  did  he  do  with  the  secession  party 
that  was  actually  undermining  the  very  foundations  of  State  sovereignty  ? 
We  have  said  that  General  Brisbane's  characteristic  was  daring;  we 
should  have  added,  cool  daring.  While  the  discussions  of  the  Secession- 
ists were  being  carried  on  in  the  city  of  Charleston,  he  might  have  been 
seen  mounted  on  the  topmost  round  of  a  ladder,  which  by  accident  bent 
against  the  walls  of  the  hall  in  which  they  convened,  deeply  pondering 
the  expression  as  well  as  words  of  the  several  speakers.  We  have  also 
said,  that,  in  early  life,  he  had  drunk  deep  draughts  of  French  Literature, 
The  characteristics  of  the  Fi'ench  revolutionists  were  indelibly  impressed 
upon  him.  At  home,  he  had  passed  through  a  revolution  himself.  He 
could  not  mistake,  then,  the  meaning  of  the  words,  and  the  import  of 
the  manner  of  the  men  before  him  :  they  were  Jacobins — American 
Jacobins.  Their  resolution,  to  organize  the  sovereign  state  of  South 
Carolina  as  a  war  club,  to  contend  against  an  abolition  party  at 
the  North,  settled  his  determination.  He  publicly  denounced  the  mea- 
sure, and  called  upon  every  citizen  of  the  state,  who  was  not  already 
implicated  in  the  scheme,  to  weigh  well  the  dangers  of  the  issue.  It  was 
the  happy  moment :  it  was  the  very  moment.  Tar  and  feathers  were 
threatened,  in  written  communications  to  him  ;  the  party  hate  of  the  day 
was  exasperated  to  the  utmost  degree  ;  but  the  cool,  daring  man,  still 
moved  on  in  the  avocations  of  his  retired  life ;  and  only  smiled  when  the 
discomfited  leaders  of  the  "Jacobin  club,"  as  he  dubbed  them,  attempted 
to  discredit  his  denunciation. 

We  are  now  drawing  to  a  close  in  the  eventful  life  of  our  intense  man. 
It  is  now  some  twelve  months  since  his  retirement  from  the  chair  of  Belles 
liettres  in  the  military  academy  of  South  Carolina.     Entertaining  as  a 


ABBOTT   HALL    BRISBANE,    OF    CHARLESTON,    S.    C.  329 

fixed  principle,  in  the  organization  of  that  institution,  that  its  standard 
of  excellence  should  keep  pace  with  that  of  the  Federal  School  at  West 
Point,  he  educated  his  classes  up  to  this  mark.  He  believed  that  a  Sove- 
reign State  had  the  j^ower  to  achieve  this  great  end  ;  and  must,  if  she 
hoped  to  insure  her  safety,  in  view  of  the  military  advancement  of  the 
Federal  State.  His  experience  for  five  years  authorized  this  conclusion, 
and  encouraged  his  hopes  to  impress  it  upon  the  state  at  large ;  but  an 
incident  in  the  routine  of  discipline  was  attributed  to  these  exaggerated 
anticipations  on  the  part  of  the  Professor  of  Belles  Lettres,  and  the  board 
of  directors  of  the  institution  dismissed  him  from  the  state  service.  How 
long  it  will  take  to  bring  about  the  views  here  entertained,  will  depend 
upon  a  re-organization  of  this  board,  which  is  now  proposed  in  the 
Legislature  of  the  state.  Since  General  Brisbane's  retirement  into  pri- 
vate life,  his  large  estate,  acquired  by  judicious  investment  of  capital, 
enables  him  to  relax  from  his  labors,  and  to  enjoy,  for  the  first  time,  the 
pleasures  of  abstraction,  as  he  terms  those  moments,  when  the  soul, 
unloosed  from  earth,  poises  itself  in  mid-air,  and  drinks  in  the  sweets  of 
both  estates — the  natural  and  the  supernatural.  He  was  born  on  the 
4th  December,  1804,  and  must  be  now  in  his  forty-ninth  year.  But  the 
man  is  still  there,  as  his  portrait  declares  him,  ready  for  any  of  the  issues 
that  may  engage  his  future  years.  His  stature  gives  him  six  feet;  his 
form  is  perfectly  erect ;  and  his  constitution  as  firm  to-day  as  it  was  when 
he  first  encountered  the  trials  of  busy  life.  The  ardent  man  has  been 
also  the  enduring  temperate  man.  His  physical  regimen  is  wholesome 
food ;  his  intellectual,  prudent  thought ;  his  moral,  acceptance ;  and 
with  these  qualities  what  may  a  man  not  attain  to  ?  We  know  not  what 
plans  General  Brisbane  proposes  for  the  future.  He  engages  himself, 
through  the  public  j^ress,  with  all  the  important  questions  that  interest 
the  attention  of  the  general  government ;  and  particularly  with  those 
which  touch  the  great  but  dangerous  subject  of  internal  improvement. 
On  that  of  the  Pacific  Railroad,  he  is  for  giving  it  to  a  responsible  cor- 
porate company,  to  act  under  contract  by  the  Postal  Department.  As 
a  commissioner  of  the  State  of  South  Carolina,  for  the  imj:)rovement  of 
the  Charleston  bar,  he  has  devoted  his  energies  to  this  great  object.  He 
believes  it  the  duty  of  the  General  Government  to  execute  the  work,  and 
from  the  moneys  of  the  public  treasury.  It  cannot  be  given  to  a  corpo- 
rate company,  with  privileges  to  impose  tolls,  and  it  cannot  be  achieved 
by  the  efforts  of  South  Carolina,  from  the  extent  of  the  operation.  It 
follows,  as  a  consequence,  that  his  position  is  correct.  However,  he  has 
been  attacked  on  this  question  by  an  able  writer  of  the  Old  State  Rights 
School,  and  in  answer  to  his  pieces,  has  exhibited,  in  bold  relief,  the 
grand  theory  of  our  Federal  Compact,  as  a2)parent  to  his  mind.  But 
these  papers  are  only  glances  at  this  important  subject.  For  his  more 
extended  views  on  the  constitution,  we  must  have  recourse  to  his  lec- 
tures, delivered  for  the  last  five  years  from  the  chair  of  Belles  Lettres,  to 
which  the  subject  was  intrusted  in  the  military  school.  The  introduc- 
tions to  these  lectures  have  been  published,  and  from  these  it  will  be  at 
once  seen,  that  when  the  Scientific  School  of  West  Point  has  applied 
itself  to  the  economics  of  government,  it  will  be  well  for  the  interests  of 
the  public,  that  the  parties  who  attempt  to  instruct  it  should  have  first 
had  recourse  to  its  results. 


330  SKETCHES    OF    EMINENT    AMERICANS. 

What  General  Brisbane's  views  are  as  to  the  extension  of  our  confede- 
rated Hmits,  we  may  best  leai-n  from  his  published  works.  As  early  as 
1833,  he  protested,  in  a  pamphlet,  against  the  degradation  of  the  black 
population  of  St.  Domingo  ;  and  regarded  its  free  institutions,  as  they 
were  then  called,  a  nuisance  to  fre-3  governments.  About  1850,  in  his 
letters  to  Archbishop  Hughes,  he  declares,  that  if  Cuba  be  permitted  by 
the  Spanish  government  to  manumit  her  slaves,  possession  should  be  in- 
stantly taken  of  the  island  by  the  government  of  the  United  States.  In 
a  letter  to  a  friend  at  Washington,  where  he  has  recently  been,  he  writes 
on  the  subject  of  Col.  Gadsden's  mission  to  Mexico,  that  this  gentleman's 
views  could  not  be  those  entertained  by  the  administration  ;  viz.  that 
our  government  would  endorse  the  nationality  of  that  country,  in  view 
of  its  peculiar  religious  tenets  ;  and  against  the  fact,  that  it  presents  an 
entering  wedge  for  designing  European  powers  to  tamper  with  our  con- 
tinental politics.  He  shows  that  all  our  previous  history  is  against  the 
plea  of  religion,  at  least.  Louisiana  was  Catholic,  Florida  was  Catliolic; 
and  even  now,  California,  New  Mexico,  and  Texas  would  be  Catholic, 
were  it  not  that  the  wand  of  the  mysterious  Yankee — the  enlarged  and 
ever  enlarging  race,  had  been  extended  over  it.  No  !  the  "  manifest  des- 
tiny" nation  has  its  foot  planted  upon  the  A^merican  continent ;  and  its 
hand  grasps  the  interest  of  the  entire  world.  It  is  in  vain  to  check  the 
march  by  petty  barriers  that  are  kicked  away  as  soon  as  placed.  General 
Brisbane  goes  so  far  in  these  letters  as  to  say,  that  the  very  Catholic 
Hierarchy  of  Mexico  will  seek  the  annexation.  Can  the  church  look 
with  indifference  to  the  possibility  of  having  her  ministry  treated  with 
the  indignity,  by  the  greater  Mexican  power,  that  they  have  met  with 
from  the  lesser  Central  American  powers  ?  Are  not  the  Catholic  eccle- 
siastics of  the  United  States  more  enviably  situated,  than  are  the  same 
body,  in  the  ever  changing,  ever  encroaching  independencies  or  princi- 
palities of  our  neighboring  continental  states  ?  From  these  sources,  at 
least,  we  trace  the  path  in  which  our  correspondent  would  travel,  were 
these  issues  to  be  made  up  in  his  day ;  and  if  it  should  be  found  to  diifer 
from  the  one  in  which  the  majority  of  the  people  might  be  travelling,  or 
from  that  marked  out  by  the  government  of  the  day,  it  would  be  of  little 
import  to  the  subject  of  this  memoir  ;  he  must  entertain  the  views  here 
sketched,  or  cease  to  speculate  upon  the  future ;  and  simply,  because 
they  are  alone  in  keeping  with  the  idiosyncrasy  of  the  man  :  they 
alone  can  satisfy  the  daring  with  which  he  must  gaze  into  the  horoscope 
of  the  ever  pregnant  time. 

We  cannot  close  this  memoir  better,  than  by  touching  upon  the  mag- 
nanimity and  generosity  of  the  character.  On  the  report  of  the  early 
disasters  of  the  Indian  war,  we  found  him  hastening  to  the  everglades  of 
Florida,  to  assist  his  old  comrades  of  the  army,  in  their  severe  campaigns. 
When  the  war  with  Mexico  wore  its  most  appalling  aspect,  and  it  was 
thought  that  the  government  intended  to  sacrifice  the  entire  corps  of 
West  Point  graduates,  he  wrote  to  Mr.  Calhoun,  then  at  Washington,  to 
volunteer  his  services.  But  that  statesman,  more  alive  to  the  honor  of 
the  nation  than  to  the  lives  of  its  army  representatives,  advised  him  to 
await  the  farther  issues  of  the  war  ;  for  if  there  was  danger  in  the  course 
of  the  Executive,  the  fewer  West  I'ointers  killed  in  the  first  campaign 
the   better;   he  must  reserve  himself  for  the  second  batch    from   that 


ABBOTT    IIALL    BRISBANE,    OF    CHARLESTON,    S.    C.  331 

quarter.  So  too  witli  the  use  of  bis  means.  AYhere  these  are  immedi- 
ately available,  be  knows  no  stint  in  their  application  to  cases  of  private 
charity  or  of  public  benefit ;  and  to  show  the  extent  to  which  his  gene- 
rosity may  be  carried,  he  has  placed  some  ten  thousand  acres  of  land 
in  the  great  cotton  region  of  the  south,  in  the  hands  of  Bishop  Reynolds 
of  Charleston,  the  devoted  advocate  of  popular  education,  for  the  purpose 
of  furnishing  a  fund  for  the  instruction  of  his  young  fellow  citizens.  This 
looks  like  munificence  rather  than  generosity  ;  but  the  man  who  can 
"  dare  to  do,"  can  afford  to  give. 


^1 


■"""Sly  J.CB,.tt»fe>T»  a.Dae»" 


WILLIAM    G.    BROWN,    OF    PRESTON    COUNTY,    VIRGINIA.  333 

HON.   WILLIAM   G.  BROWN, 

OF   PRESTON    COUNTY,    VIRGINIA. 

'  The  family  of  the  Browns  of  Scotland  is  a  very  numerous  and  ancient 
family ;  many  of  them  yet  inhabit  that  country,  and  many  have  emi- 
grated to  England  and  Ireland.  John  Brown,  the  grandfather  of  the 
individual,  a  sketch  of  whose  life  we  propose  giving,  was  born  and  edu- 
cated in  the  neighborhood  of  Edinburgh,  where  the  greater  portion  of 
his  relatives  yet  reside.  When  he  became  of  age  he  went  to  England, 
but  not  succeeding  in  business  as  well  as  he  wished  he  resolved  to  settle 
in  Ireland,  where  a  branch  of  his  family  had  emigrated  some  years  be- 
fore. He  returned  to  Scotland,  married  a  young  lady  of  his  early 
acquaintance  by  the  name  of  Ann  Morrow,  and  immediately  set  sail  for 
Londonderry,  in  the  neighborhood  of  which  he  settled,  and  took  charge 
of  a  large  estate  belonging  to  the  father  of  Gen.  Montgomery  who  fell 
at  Quebec,  and  afterwards  to  Lord  Beresford,  when  he  lived  to  an  old 
age,  enjoying  the  confidence  and  friendship  of  all  who  knew  him,  leaving 
six  children :  viz.  John,  James,  George,  Peter,  Thomas,  and  Ann,  who 
married  a  gentleman  by  the  name  of  Ross.  He  procured  for  his  eldest 
son  John  an  office  in  the  EngHsh  Navy,  who  was  lost  by  the  sinking  of 
the  "  Royal  George."  The  American  Revolution  produced  a  great 
change  in  the  feelings  and  sentiments  of  the  people  of  Ireland — thousands 
of  them  openly  advocating  the  cause  of  American  Independence. 
James  Brown,  the  father  of  the  subject  of  these  memoirs,  in  his  zeal  for 
the  success  of  the  American  arms,  used  language  towards  the  crown  and 
ministry  of  England  that  greatly  displeased  the  loyal  party,  and  fears 
were  entertained  by  his  father  lest  a  prosecution  should  grow  out  of 
what  he  called  the  indiscretion  of  his  son.  At  the  close  of  the  revolu- 
tion James  Brown  associated  with  those  who  looked  to  the  emancipation 
of  Ireland,  but  finding  the  protestant  population  greatly  divided  on  the 
subject,  he  resolved  to  emigrate  to  America.  Before  leaving  Ireland  he 
married  a  young  lady  by  the  name  of  Rachel  Hawthorn,  who  had  several 
brothers  who  had  been  in  America,  and  who  had  returned  home  with  a 
view  of  aiding  in  a  revolution  in  Ireland,  or  of  inducing  their  family  to 
emigrate  to  the  United  States.  In  the  autumn  of  1789  James  Brown 
and  his  wife's  family  sailed  from  Londonderry  for  Philadelphia,  where 
they  all  safely  landed,  and  in  the  spring  following  removed  to  western 
Virginia,  and  settled  in  that  portion  of  Monongalia  County  which  now 
forms  the  County  of  Preston  ;  and  Brown  purchased  lands  in  the  neigh- 
borhood, called  the  "  Dunkard  Bottom,''  where  he  lived  until  the  year 
1838,  when  he  died  at  the  age  of  77  years.  He  raised  a  family  of  five 
sons  and  two  daughters — viz.  John  C,  who  died  on  the  paternal  estate 
in  April,  1852 — Robert,  Joseph,  William  G.,  Thomas,  Jane,  and  Anne 
M.,  who  married  Elisha  M.  Hagans,  Esq.  Jane  married  a  gentleman  by 
the  name  of  Bowen,  who  has  settled  in  Wisconsin.  The  other  children 
all  settled  in  and  near  Kingwood,  the  county  seat  of  Preston  County, 
where  they  now  reside. 

William  G.  Brown,  the  fourth  son,  was  born  25th  September,  1801. 


33'i  SKETCHES    OF    EMINENT    AMERICANS. 

He  had  the  benefit  of  such  schooling  as  the  country  then  afforded,  being 
nothing  more  than  a  good  English  education.  He  was  remarkable  for  his 
fondness  of  reading ;  and  his  father  having  a  pretty  good  miscellaneous 
library,  at  the  age  of  twenty  years  he  was  well  read  in  history  and  bio- 
graphy. Having  learned  that  his  father  was  a  connexion  of  the  mother 
of  Robert  Burns,  he  felt  inclined  to  cultivate  his  poetical  capacity,  which, 
however,  not  promising  much  either  of  fame  or  fortune,  he  at  once  deter- 
mined on  studying  the  law.  In  the  summer  of  1822  he  went  to  Parkers- 
burg,  where  he  had  the  benefit  of  the  instructions  and  libraries  of  the 
late  Oliver  Phelps  and  Joseph  H.  Samuels,  Esq.,  now  of  Shenandoah, 
Virginia.  Of  the  kindness  of  these  two  gentlemen  Mr.  Brown  never 
fails  to  speak  on  all  suitable  occasions  in  the  highest  terms. 

In  the  spring  of  1823  Mr.  Brown  came  to  the  bar,  and  settled  in  Pres- 
ton County.  He  soon  gave  evidence  of  a  high  order  of  intellect,  and 
gained  for  himself  a  wide-spread  reputation  as  a  profound  lawyer  and 
successful  advocate. 

In  1824,  '28,  and  '32  hesuppov-ted  Andrew  Jackson  for  the  Presidency, 
and  contributed  in  no  small  degree  to  the  popularity  of  that  great  man 
in  the  counties  of  Preston  and  Monongalia,  in  which  he  then  practised 
as  a  lawyer. 

In  1832  he  was  elected  to  the  General  Assembly  of  Virginia,  and  in 
the  stormy  session  of  that  year  he  acted  with  those  who  condemned  the 
rash  course  of  South  Carolina  in  her  ordinance  of  nullification.  Although 
Mr.  Brown  was  a  strict  "  States  rights  man"  of  the  Virginia  school,  and 
condemned  in  the  2^foclamation  all  that  seemed  to  favor  centralism  in 
the  Federal  Government ;  yet  he  denied  that  the  friends  and  supporters 
of  nullification  did  justice  to  the  President  in  their  construction  of  that 
instrument,  and  he  was  greatly  relieved  from  his  embarrassment,  when 
the  authorized  explanations  appeared  in  the  official  paper  at  Wash- 
ington. 

Mr.  Brown  prosecuted  his  profession  very  successfully  until  the  spring 
of  1840,  when  the  Whig  party  became  so  formidable  in  Virginia,  that 
his  political  fiiends  called  for  his  services  in  the  legislature  of  the  state, 
where  he  distinguished  himself  for  three  years  in  succession  as  a  bold 
and  skilful  leader  of  his  party,  and  as  a  sound  and  prudent  legislator. 
The  popularity  of  Mr.  Brown  in  his  own  county  is  shown  by  his  haviug 
in  1843  been  returned  a  delegate  to  the  General  Assembly  without 
oppositon. 

In  the  memorable  campaign  of  1844  Mr.  Brown  was  appointed  an 
assistant  elector  for  the  17th  electoral  district,  and  in  canvassing  his  dis- 
trict soon  acquired  a  reputation  as  a  popular  speaker,  that  induced  calls 
for  him  in  all  the  considerable  popular  meetings  through  northwest 
Virginia  and  the  south-western  counties  of  Pennsylvania. 

In  the  spring  of  1845  he  was  nominated  for  Congress,  and  elected  over 
his  Whig  competitor  by  an  unprecedented  majority.  In  the  controversy 
with  England  with  regard  to  the  Oregon  Boundary,  Mr.  Brown  claimed  for 
the  United  States  the  parallel  of  54°  40'  as  her  northern  boundary,  and 
voted  against  the  resolution  passed  by  Congress,  showing  the  willingness 
of  that  body  for  the  government  to  compromise  on  the  parallel  of  49°. 
He  has  been  frequently  heard  to  say  that  it  was  an  imprudent  "  backing 
out"  of  the  administration  and  its  friends.     Mr.  Brown  warmly  supported 


■WILLIAM    G.    BROWN,    OF    PRESTON    COUNTY,   YIRGINIA,  335 

the  war  with  Mexico,  voted  for  all  the  supplies  called  for  by  the  execu- 
tive, and  advocated  at  all  times  a  vigorous  prosecution  of  the  war  as  the 
cheapest  and  best  way  of  terminating  the  controversy. 

In  the  spring  of  1847  Mr.  Brown  was  again  returned  to  Congress  with- 
out any  regular  opposition.  lie  soon  after  gave  notice  to  his  constituents 
that  he  wished  to  retire  from  public  life  at  the  close  of  Mr.  Polk's 
administration. 

He  was  not,  however,  long  allowed  to  rest  from  his  public  services,  and 
in  the  fall  of  1850  he  was  returned  a  delegate  to  the  late  Virginia  Con- 
vention, where  he  fully  sustained  his  reputation  for  tact  and  ability. 

The  long  session  and  difficult  and  perplexing  questions  discussed  and 
settled  by  the  Convention  tended  much  to  strengthen  the  inclination  of 
Mr.  Brown  to  quit  public  life. 

Mr.  Brown  has  acquired  a  very  handsome  fortune  by  his  profession,  and 
is  now  prosecuting  a  very  profitable  practice  in  connexion  wnth  his 
nephew,  John  J.  Brown. 

But  it  is  in  the  defence  of  persons  charged  with  high  crimes  that  he  has 
most  distinguished  himself.  In  the  powers  of  persuasion  he  has  few  supe- 
riors. Many  instances  could  be  given  where  he  cleared  his  clients  to  the 
utter  astonishment  of  all,  save  those  who  heard  the  defence. 

The  innocent  always  found  in  him  a  fast  friend  and  a  successful  advo- 
cate; and  even  the  guilty,  when  they  could  bring  strong  mitigating  cir- 
cumstances to  their  aid,  could  generally  get,  through  the  powers  of  his 
elo(^uence  and  skill,  the  benefit  of  a  legal  defence  and  the  pardoning  power 
applied  at  the  same  time,  resulting  in  a  verdict  of  acquittal.  A  case  is 
given  in  1838,  of  a  young  man  by  the  name  of  Lawrence,  who  was 
arrested  for  passing  counterfeit  bank-notes.  In  consequence  of  a  great 
deal  of  spurious  money  having  got  into  circulation  about  that  time,  the 
Bank  Officers  were  active  in  arresting,  prosecuting,  and  testifying  against 
persons  accused  of  being  engaged  in  such  practices. 

The  accused  was  very  young,  pre2)ossessing  in  his  appearance,  and 
engaging  in  his  manners  and  address.  Owing  to  what  Mr.  Brown  thought 
an  over-officiousness  in  some  of  the  agents  and  officers  of  the  banks,  as 
well  as  to  the  favorable  impression  j^roduced  by  the  appearance  and 
address  of  the  prisoner,  he  took  a  deep  interest  in  the  young  stranger.  A 
rumor  had  gone  abroad  that  they  had  in  gaol  a  monstrous  offender,  and  a 
great  crowd  attended  his  trial.  The  evidence  against  the  accused  did  not 
come  up  to  the  expectations  of  the  prosecutors,  yet  it  was  probably  suffi- 
cient to  have  authorized  a  conviction.  After  arguing  with  great  power 
and  skill  in  favor  of  the  innocence  of  his  client,  Mr.  Brown  availed  him- 
self of  the  youth  and  fine  appearance  of  the  young  man ;  and,  seizing 
hold  of  the  strong  prejudices  then  existing  against  the  suspension  of  the 
banks  of  the  country,  the  prisoner  was  acquitted  without  the  least  hesita- 
tion, amidst  the  shouts  (which  no  power  of  the  court  could  suppress)  of 
the  delighted  crowd,  who  rushed  to  meet  the  prisoner  in  the  court  yard 
to  congratulate  him  on  his  deliverance  from  a  foul  and  unfounded  prose- 
cution ;  and  some  of  the  principal  witnesses  and  actors  in  the  prosecution 
found  themselves  in  more  danger  from  the  indignation  raised  against 
them  than  the  prisoner  had  ever  been  of  legal  punishment.  In  his  domes- 
tic relations  Mr.  Brown  was  very  happily  situated,  he  married  a  daughter 


336  SKETCHES    OF    EMINENT    AMERICANS. 

of  the  late  Charles  Byrne,  Esq.,  a  lady  who  won  for  herself  the  love  and 
affection  of  all  who  made  her  acquaintance.  She  died  in  the  spring  of 
1851,  whilst  Mr.  Brown  was  on  the  Convention.  He  always  ascribes  to 
this  amiable  lady  the  merit  of  giving  him  whatever  of  fortune  or  distinc- 
tion he  enjoys. 


^^^^z^^ 


o 


nFXEQKUKJOWA. 


,,/■■•  r-.r    hio /graphical 


VER    PLANCK    VAN    ANTWERP,    OF    IOWA.  337 

GEN.  VER  PLANCK  VAN  ANTWERP, 

LATE     COMMISSIONER     OF     PUBLIC     WORKS     OF     IOWA. 

The  subject  of  this  memoir  has  not  been  the  incumbent  of  either  the 
gubernatorial  chair  or  a  seat  in  the  U.  S.  Senate ;  yet  it  may  well  be 
doubted  whether  any  citizen  of  Iowa,  even  thus  officially  prominent,  has 
been  more  intimately  and  conspicuously  identified  with  nearly  every 
important  event  in  her  history  and  progress,  or  left  a  more  indelible 
mark  upon  her  annals,  from  her  infancy  up  to  the  present  time  ;  whilo 
not  many  men  have  taken  a  more  active  part  in  public  afiairs  and  politics, 
in  ditt'erent  states  of  the  West,  during  the  last  twenty  years,  as  will 
appear  by  this  sketch. 

Of  the  Republican  or  Democratic  school,  politically,  a  double  ancestral 
inheritance,  and  thrown,  from  an  early  age,  into  intimate  association  with 
many  of  the  great  leaders  of  that  party,  at  the  capital  of  the  "  Empire 
State,"  where  he  long  resided,  young  Van  Antvi'erp  became,  almost 
necessarily,  a  participator  to  some  extent  in  the  political  contests  of  the 
day  ;  and,  being  of  an  ardent  and  impulsive  temperament,  that  participa- 
tion, even  at  that  early  age,  was  not  entirely  passive ;  nor  did  it  lose  its 
activity  when,  after  attaining  the  age  of  manhood,  he  determined  to 
emigrate  to  the  ''  Great  West,"  and  embark  his  hopes  and  fortunes  upon 
that  rude  sea  of  stirring  enterj^rise.  But  we  must  not  anticipate  the 
future,  but  proceed,  secundum  artem,  Avith  the  history  of  our  fliend. 

Ver  Planck  Van  Antwei'p,  then,  was  born  in  the  village  of  Coeymans, 
twelve  miles  below  the  city  of  Albany,  on  the  west  bank  of  the  Hudson, 
June  8th,  1807,  and  is  now,  therefore,  46  years  of  age.  The  name  itself 
unmistakably  indicates  the  Holland  origin  of  his  ancestry,  who,  both 
paternal  and  maternal — Van  Plancks  and  Van  Antwerps — were  among 
the  earliest  settlers  of  the  great  state  of  New  York,  which  contained  then 
only  a  few  hundred,  or  at  most  a  few  thousand  inhabitants.  Even  the 
name — Van  Antwerp — is  compounded  of  the  Dutch  word  Von,  signify- 
ing/>o»i,  and  anglicised  into  Van — and  the  name  of  that  city  ("  Antwerp''') 
which,  before  its  attainment  by  the  English,  and  during  the  long  years  of 
Holland's  commercial  supremacy,  when  the  ships  of  Von  Tromp  and  De 
Ruyter  swept  the  seas  with  the  symbolic  broom  at  their  mast-heads,  wa.s 
what  London  is  now — the  great  depot  of  European  commerce.  Von 
Antwerp,  ox  from  Antwerp,  was,  therefore,  originally  only  an  appendage 
to  the  name  (Fontair)  of  a  family,  descended  from  an  adherent  of  one  of 
the  kings  of  France,  who,  after  the  invasion  and  devastation  of  Holland 
by  the  French,  chose  to  remain  and  settle  within  its  borders,  rather  than 
return  with  his  victorious  sovereign  to  his  old  home.  Such,  at  any  rate, 
is  the  traditionary  account,  as  handed  down  by  the  "  Old  Folks  "  from 
generation  to  generation,  to  the  present  day  ;  and  it  is  introduced  here» 
not  as  a  matter  of  immediate  interest  to  the  general  reader,  but  as  a 
singular  illustration  of  the  facility  with  which  fjimily  names  are  often 
transposed,  or  lost,  in  the  change  of  localities  and  fortunes. 

From  the  city,  or  village  of  New  York,  branches  of  both  the  Ver 
Planck  and  Van  Antwerp  families  emigrated  up  the  Hudson,  to  Albany 

VOL.  III.  22 


338  SKETCUES    OF    EMINENT    AMERICANS, 

and  its  vicinity;  and  in  the  charter  granted  by  Charles" the  Second  for 
the  incorporation  of  that  city,  the  nanie  of  Isaac  Ver  Planck  is  mentioned 
as  one  of  the  first  members  of  the  corporation,  A  very  old  commission 
is  also  in  existence,  entitling  Gerrel  Van  Antwerp  as  "  First  Town 
Major''  of  Schenectady^  then  also  a  sparse  toivnshij),  but  now  a  consider- 
able city,  and  the  locality  of  one  of  the  most  noted  institutions  of  learning 
in  our  country. 

A  descendant  of  this  Gerret  Van  Antwerp,  the  grandfather  of  the  sub- 
ject of  this  biography,  who  took  up  his  residence  at  Coeymans,  was  an 
ardent  and  active  "Whig"  in  the  revolution  of  1116,  and  of  such  pro- 
verbial kindness  of  heart,  that  many  instances  are  related  where  his  Tory 
neighbors,  who  persisted  in  extolling  the  reign  of  George  the  Third,  to  the 
glorious  achievement  of  American  Independence,  were  saved  from  the 
unpleasant  results  of  their  perverse  loyalty,  by  his  timely  and  active 
interference. 

The  venerable  father  of  Ver  Planck  Van  Antwerp  still  continues  to  live 
at  the  spot  where  he  was  born,  the  sole  survivor  of  a  large  family  of 
brothers,  and  having  attained  a  ripe  old  age,  with  the  conceded  character, 
by  all  who  have  known  him  through  life,  of  "  an  honest  man — that 
noblest  work  of  God."  It  is  by  no  means  strange  that  all  classes  and 
ages  of  the  quiet  little  community  where  he  dwells,  esteem  and  respect 
this  venerable  man  as  the  patriarch  of  their  village. 

Young  Van  Antwerp  spent  most  of  the  days  of  his  boyhood  in  his 
native  township  of  Coeymans,*  surrounded  by  a  numerous  connexion, 
mostly  farmers,  and  taking  a  frequent  part,  suited  to  his  age,  in  the 
healthy  agricultural  avocations  of  the  neighborhood.  On  the  death  of 
his  mother,  when  in  the  eleventh  year  of  his  age,  he  was  transferred  to 
the  old  homestead  of  her  father,  Major  Isaac  D.  Ver  Planck,  at  "  Ahqua- 
tuck."  On  arriving  at  the  age  of  fourteen,  it  so  chanced  that  a  bachelor 
uncle,  Cornelius  Van  Antwerp,  was  a  resident  of  Albany,  and  a  sheriff  of 
the  county — one  of  that  rare  class  of  generous  men  who  seem  to  live  to  do 
good  to  others,  rather  than  to  think  of  their  own  individual  interests ; 
and  whose  hand  and  purse  were  accordingly  ever  open  to  help  to  educate 
the  children  of  relatives  less  blessed  with  worldly  fortunes.  By  the  kind 
invitation  of  this  generous  uncle,  young  Van  Antwerp  repaired  to  Albany, 
to  receive  his  education  at  the  Academy  of  that  city.  The  head  of  that 
institution — and  the  head  still,  after  a  lapse  of  30  years — was  that  ripe 
scholar  and  distinguished  author.  Dr.  Theodore  Romeyn  Beck,  by  whom, 
personally,  the  subject  of  our  sketch  was  grounded  in  every  rudimental 
department,  in  connexion  with  the  usual  tuition  in  the  various  branches, 

*  A  paternal  ancestor  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  Barent  Peter  Coeymans — 
spelled  variously  on  the  old  maps  and  records  A'oeymans,  Coyeman,  and  Coey- 
mans— became,  at  an  early  period  in  the  history  of  New  York,  through  a  grant, 
or  "  patent,"  from  the  Crown,  the  proprietor  of  a  large  tract  of  land,  extending 
from  the  Hudson  River  back  to  the  Blue  or  Catskill  mountains,  a  portion  of 
which  was  subsequently  organized  into  the  Township  of  Coeymans.  For  lack  of 
male  heirs  beyond  a  second  generation,  the  name  became  extinct  in  the  family, 
perhaps  all  of  a  century  ago.  The  old  Coeymans  mansion,  built  of  st^ne  and 
|)i.iek — the  latter  brought  from  Holland— on  the  spot  where  the  village  now 
etands,  was  pulled  down  some  20  or  30  years  ago.  It  was  quite  a  large  and 
massive  building,  constructed  with  a  view  to  defence  against  the  Indians,  and  thus 
became  known,  in  after  years,  as  "  The  Old  Castle." 


VER    PLANCK    VAN    ANTWERP,    OF    IOWA,  3-39 

by  the  teachers  of  that  excellent  establishment.  Among  his  fellow 
students,  at  the  period  referred  to,  was  a  youth  named  Joseph  Henry,  the 
son  of  poor  but  most  worthy  and  respectable  parents,  whose  acquaintance 
with  young  Van  Antwerp  matured,  in  time,  into  warm  personal  friendship. 
Professor  Henry,  since  renowned  throughout  Europe  and  America  for 
his  galvanic  and  other  discoveries,  is  now  at  the  head  of  the  "  Smithsonian 
Institute,"  at  Washington,  and  honored  with  the  title  of  "  the  Arago  of 
America,"  from  the  first  men  of  the  land  !  What  an  example  for  the 
youth  of  our  country  ! 

Young  Van  Antwerp  entered  the  Academy  at  Albany  in  April,  1821, 
and  in  September  of  the  same  year  a  convention  assembled  in  the  capital 
to  remodel  the  Constitution  of  the  state.  This  constitution  had  been 
adopted  in  1777,  and  had  stood  for  forty-four  3'ears  unmolested,  although 
containing  many  obnoxious  provisions ;  among  which  was  a  prohibition 
from  sufirage  of  every  one  who  was  not  a  "  freeholder,"  or  "  possessing  a 
fi-eehold"  of  specified  value. 

The  Republican  party  of  the  state  made  war  upon  these  obnoxious  pro- 
visions, and  finally  succeeded  in  calling  a  convention  to  eradicate  them — 
a  body  displayiug  as  great  an  array  of  distinguished  men  as  was  ever 
assembled  in  America,  embracing  among  its  members  such  names  as  those 
of  Daniel  D.  Tompkins,  Rufus  King,  Martin  Van  Buren,  Chancellor  Kent, 
Chief  Justice  Ambrose  Spencer,  Erastus.  Root,  Judge  William  W.  Van 
Ness,  Samuel  Young,  Elisha  Williams,  Abraham  Van  Vechten,  Peter  R, 
Livingston,  Jacob  R.  Van  Rensselaer,  James  Tallmadge,  Jr.,  Nathan  San- 
ford,  Peter  A.  Jay,  John  Duer,  and  a  host  of  other  intellectual  giants  and 
men  of  note,  not  only  in  New  York  but  throughout  the  Union. 

The  debates  of  this  body  of  great  men,  on  the  various  subjects  con- 
sidered by  them,  were  of  course  of  the  most  interesting  character,  and  at- 
tracted daily  very  large  and  absorbed  audiences.  It  was  the  first  delibe- 
rative body  ever  attended  by  the  subject  of  this  sketch ;  and  even  at  that 
early  age  the  powerful  debates  of  such  men  as  Van  Buren,  Root,  Living- 
ston, Young,  &c.,  on  the  Republican  side,  opposed  by  such  able  minds  as 
Kent,  Spencer,  Van  Ness,  Williams,  Van  Rensselaer,  &c.,  on  the  other, 
could  not  but  make  a  strong  impression  upon  him,  and  fix  more  firmly 
than  ever  the  conviction  of  the  truth  and  justice  of  the  political  principles 
which  he  had  been  taught  from  childhood. 

Having  spent  over  two  years  at  Albany,  young  Van  Antwerp  received 
in  1823  from  John  C.  Calhoun,  Secretary  of  War,  a  warrant  to  enter  the 
United  States  Military  Academy  at  West  Point  as  a  cadet,  procured  for 
him  at  the  intercession  of  his  uncle,  by  the  influence  mainly  of  a  near 
relative.  Gen.  Richard  McCarty,  Member  of  Congress  from  the  adjoining 
County  of  Greene,  aided  by  Gen.  Stephen  Van  Rensselaer,  the  rej)resen- 
tative  of  Albany,  and  the  Hon.  Martin  Van  Buren,  then  just  elected  United 
States  Senator  from  New  York.  The  oldest  son  of  Mr.  Van  Buren,  of 
about  young  Van  Antwerp's  age,  and  his  intimate  associate  and  friend, 
received  a  cadet's  warrant  at  the  same  time  ;  and  in  June,  1823,  the  two 
entered  West  Point  together.  The  subject  of  our  sketch  bore  himself 
with  much  credit  at  this  institution,  and  was  a  decided  favorite  with  the 
commandant  of  the  post,  the  late  lamented  Major-General  Worth.  In 
proof  of  this,  it  may  be  mentioned  that  a  year  after  entering  the  institu- 
tion he  was  selected  by  him,  in  company  with  some  ten  or  a  dozen  others, 


340  SKETCHES    OF    EMINENT    AMERICANS. 

out  of  a  class  of  a  hundred,  to  fill  a  non-commissioned  office  in  the  corps. 
Among  the  fellow-students  of  young  Van  Antweip,  at  the  Military  Aca- 
demy, was  Jefterson  Davis,  now  Secretary  of  War.  His  room-mates,  for 
a  portion  of  the  time,  were  Robert  Fulton,  the  only  son  of  him  who  ren- 
dered that  name  immortal,  and  Col.  George  W.  Hughes,  now  of  Mary- 
land. At  the  end  of  three  years  spent  at  West  Point,  rising  rapidly  in 
his  class  in  each  year,  in  the  different  branches  of  study,  and  with  the 
certainty  of  an  honorable  standing  upon  the  list  of  graduates,  young  Van 
Antwerp  resigned  his  cadet's  commission,  and  commenced  the  study  of 
the  law  in  the  office  of  Messrs.  Lovett  and  Livingston,  of  Albany,  He 
was  led  to  this  step,  doubtless,  by  the  very  clear  perception,  after  three 
years'  experience,  that  the  dull  routine,  slow  promotion,  and  official  dicta- 
tion of  a  life  in  the  army,  were  totally  unsuited  to  his  character  of  mind 
and  hopes  of  the  future  ;  and  that  he  could  probably  serve  his  country 
quite  as  well  in  the  no  less  stirring  fields  of  intellectual  ambition — a  deci- 
sion which  the  sequel  has  amply  justified.  Having  finished  the  prescribed 
course  of  legal  study,  at  the  expiration  of  three  years  from  his  departure 
from  West  Point,  he  was  duly  admitted  to  practise  as  an  attorney  and 
solicitor  in  chancery  in  the  State  of  New  York  in  the  month  of  February, 
1829. 

The  period  embraced  in  these  last  three  years  was  one  of  unparalleled 
political  excitement  and  popular  ferment,  in  the  midst  of  which  young 
Van  Antwerp  entered  upon  his  political  career  with  great  zeal.  First, 
there  was  the  memorable  anti-masonic  outbreak  in  the  fall  of  1826, 
adroitly  seized  upon  by  ambitious  men  to  promote  their  selfish  ends, 
which  raised  such  a  storm  in  the  state  as  has  not  been  witnessed  perhaps 
before  or  since  !  After  this,  in  1828,  ensued  the  exciting  canvass  for 
General  Jackson,  whose  success  in  this  instance  resulted  in  a  great  degree 
from  a  violent  upheaving  of  the  political  elements,  produced  by  his  defeat 
in  the  United  States  House  of  Representatives,  in  1825,  by  John  Quincy 
Adams,  with  the  aid  of  Mr.  Clay.  At  this  memorable  election  Ver  Planck 
Van  Antwerp  recorded  his  first  vote  for  Andrew  Jackson,  for  President, 
and  Martin  Van  Buren,  for  Governor  of  New  York ;  and  no  one  in  the 
State,  old  or  young,  surpassed  him  in  zeal  and  activity  of  effort  in  securing 
their  election.  But  just  arrived  of  age,  he  was  made  Secretary  of  the 
Young  Men's  General  Committee  at  the  capital.  Mr.  Van  Buren  beat  his 
competitor  in  the  contest  (Smith  Thompson,  an  Ex-Secretary  of  the  Navy) 
by  an  overwhelming  majority. 

In  the  spring  of  1829  Mr.  Van  Buren,  having  accepted  the  post  of  Se- 
cretary of  State  in  the  cabinet  of  General  Jackson,  intrusted  his  young 
friend  Van  Antwerp  with  a  temporary  mission,  which  required  him  to 
visit  all  the  States  and  Territories  west  of  the  Alleghany  Mountains,  to 
the  different  Governors  of  which  he  was  furnished  with  letters  of  inti'oduc- 
tion.  This,  his  first  visit  to  the  West,  apparently  imbued  Mr.  Van  Ant- 
werp with  a  strong  passion  for  a  western  life ;  but  there  existed  at  the 
same  time  a  still  stronger  attraction — an  affaire  de  coeur — which  drew 
him  back  to  Albany,  where  he  married,  a  few  months  after  his  return, 
Jane  Maria  Yates,  the  eldest  daughter  of  the  late  Hon.  John  Van  Ness 
Yates,  a  lawyer  of  much  distinction,  one  of  the  most  ready  and  popular 
speakers  of  the  day,  and  Secretary  of  State  during  most  of  the  guberna- 
torial administration  of  Dc  Witt  Clinton.     He  was  the  son  of  Robert 


VER   PLANCK   VAN    ANTWERP,    OF    IOWA.  341 

Yates,  wlio  was  Chief  Justice  of  New  York  from  1790  until  1798,  and  of 
whom  liis  biographer  speaks  as  follows  : — "  One  of  the  most  prompt,  in- 
fluential, and  substantial  friends  of  the  popular  cause  during  the  Revolu- 
tion of  1776,"  and  occup3'ing  successively  "the  important  positions  of 
Chairman  of  the  Committee  of  Military  Operations  in  '76  and  '77 — a 
member  of  the  convention  in  the  latter  year  which  framed  the  Constitu- 
tion of  New  York,  as  well  as  that  which  framed  the  Federal  Constitu- 
tion,* and  also  of  that  by  which  the  latter  was  ratified  in  his  native  state, 
where  he  opposed  its  adoption."  "  He  possessed,"  adds  his  biographer, 
"  a  tine  genius,  was  an  accomplished  scholar,  thoroughly  versed  in  the 
law,  and  greatly  distinguished  and  beloved  for  his  amiable  temper,  bene- 
volence, public  spirit,  uprightness,  and  wisdom."  His  wife  was  a  Van 
Ness  (of  the  republican  branch,  as  distinguished  from  the  "federal") ;  and 
hence  the  name  of  the  sou — John  Van  Ness  Yates. 

Mrs.  Van  Antwerp  has  a  large  inheritance  of  the  genius  and  fluency  of 
speech  of  the  father  and  grandfather ;  and  uniting  a  liberal  education 
with  attractions  of  person,  has  ever  been  an  ornament  of  the  society  in 
which  she  has  moved,  the  favorite  of  a  circle,  and  the  occasional  nucleus 
of  a  coterie  where  dulness  is  unknown ;  while  a  pattern  for  her  sex  in  all 
her  domestic  relations  and  avocations. 

For  a  year  or  more  after  his  admission  to  the  bar,  Mr.  Van  Antwerp 
practised  as  an  attorney  in  Albany,  in  co-partnership  with  his  father-in- 
law,  Mr.  Yates  ;  but  soon  the  prevailing  spirit  of  emigration  reawakened 
his  love  for  the  West,  and  he  readily  obeyed  the  impulse.  Accordingly, 
in  the  summer  of  1832,  he  went  out  to  Ohio,  and  was  engaged,  during 
that  and  the  following  season,  in  exploring  a  route  for  a  railroad  to  con- 
nect Lake  Erie,  at'Sandusky  City,  with  the  Mad  River  Valley,  and  thence 
with  the  Ohio,  at  Cincinnati.  Much  of  this  route,  up  towards  the  lake, 
ran  through  an  almost  unbroken  wilderness,  the  dense  forests  of  which 
were  relieved  only  at  long  distances  by  the  rare  and  agreeable  spectacle 
of  a  rude  human  habitation ;  and  where  the  nightly  encampment  of  our 
explorer  was  serenaded,  in  full  chorus,  by  the  howling  of  wolves.  This 
exploration,  or  survey,  was  probably  the  firs^t  one  ever  undertaken  for  a 
railroad  anywhere  west  of  the  Alleghany  mountains.  When  it  was 
completed,  and  a  report  and  estimate  of  its  practicability  and  probable 

*  The  resolution  of  the  Legislature  of  New  York  (assembled  in  joint  conven- 
tion of  the  Senate  and  Assembly,  March  6,  1*787)  appointing  delegates  to  the 
convention  at  Philadelphia,  which  framed  the  Constitution  of  the  tinited  States, 
is  in  these  words  : — "  ReRolved,  That  the  Honorable  Robert  Yates,  John  Lansing, 
Jr.,  and  Alexander  Hamilton,  Es(|s.,  be,  and  they  are  hereby  declared  duly  nomi- 
nated and  appointed  delegates,  on  the  part  of  this  State,  to  meet  such  delegates 
as  maj'  be  appointed  on  the  part  of  the  other  States,  respectivelj',  on  the  second 
Monday  in  May  next,  at  Philadelphia,  for  the  sole  and  express  purpose  of  revising 
the  Articles  of  Confederation,  and  reporting  to  Congress,  and  to  the  several  legis- 
latures, such  alterations  and  provisions  therein  as  shall,  when  agreed  to  in  Con- 
gress, and  confirmed  by  the  several  States,  render  the  federal  constitution  ade- 
quate to  the  exigencies  of  government,  and  the  preservation  of  the  Union."  See 
"the  authentic  copy"  of  "  The  Constitution,"  page  182,  by  W.  Hickey,  jiublished 
under  the  auspices  of  Congress,  in  1847. 

Mr.  Yates,  in  accordance  with  the  above  resolution,  attended  as  a  delegate  in 
the  Philadelphia  Convention,  and  subsequently  published  his  "Notes" — a  work  of 
much  interest — upon  the  proceedings  of  that  body,  but  was  absent  when  it  ad- 
journed in  September. 


342  SKETCHES    OF    EMINENT    AMERICANS. 

cost  prepared,  in  July,  1833,  a  meeting  of  the  directors  was  held,  and 
resolutions  adopted,  authorizing  its  president,  General  Joseph  Vance 
(since  Governor  of  Ohio),  and  Mr.  Van  Antwerp,  to  proceed  to  the  city 
of  New  York,  and  sell  the  bonds  of  the  company,  or  procure  a  subscrip- 
tion of  stock  to  construct  the  road.  Mr.  Van  Antwerp  had  already 
widely  advertised  the  project,  by  essays  in  the  public  prints,  and  es- 
pecially by  a  series  of  letters  addressed  to  his  excellency,  Wm.  L.  Marcy, 
now  Secretary  of  State  of  the  U.  S.,  and  then  Governor  of  New  York, 
which  were  published  in  the  "  Albany  Argus." 

General  Vance  and  Mr.  Van  Antwerp  went  upon  their  mission  to  New 
Y'ork,  and  remained  there  several  weeks,  during  which  time  nmch  was 
said,  through  the  columns  of  the  press,  in  regard  to  th«  "  Mad  River  and 
Lake  Erie  Railroad."  The  mission  proved  unsuccessful.-  The  capitalists 
of  New  Y^ork  could  be  made  to  see  no  profit  from  such  an  investmeijt ; 
nor  did  they  even  believe  that  much  benefit  would  accrue  to  their  city 
from  the  construction  of  the  work  !  They  looked  upon  the  scheme  as 
"  visionary  ;"  it  was  "  too  early,"  thought  they,  to  meditate  sucli  a  thing. 
There  would  be  time  enough  to  talk  about  it,  towards  the  last  of  this  ceu- 
turi/,  or  the  beginning  of  the  next !  Such  opinions  were  entertained,  and 
such  disparaging  expressions  were  not  uncommon  among  the  inillionaires 
of  New  Y^ork.  Twenty  years  have  not  elapsed  since  then.  We  are  only 
upon  the  verge  of  the  down-hill  of  this  century — and  what  has  been 
done  ?  The  Lake  Erie  and  Mad  River  railroad  is  not  only  completed  long 
ago,  but  also  many  others  parallel  to  it;  and  the  whole  state  of  Ohio  is 
traversed  by  the  iron  network.  The  same  too  may  be  said  of  Indiana 
and  Illinois ;  and  the  iron  horse  has  even  crossed  the  Mississippi,  and  is 
thundering  on  his  way  to  the  Rocky  Mountains  and  the  Pacific  Ocean  ! 
Another  twenty  years  ! — what  will  the]/  bring  forth  ? — and  at  the  expira- 
tion of  that  time,  moi'e  than  a  quarter  of  the  century  will  remain,  to  illus- 
trate still  further  the  energy  of  the  American  people,  and  the  wonderful 
progress  of  our  country.  Oh,  most  wise  millionaires !  how  sagacious 
and  enlightened  are  your  judgments!  Oh,  capitalists  of  the  now  giant 
New  Y^ork !  have  ye  profited  much  by  the  errors  of  your  progenitors  ? 
Can  ye  realize,  now,  the  developments  to  be  made  in  your  oion  day,  of 
the  valleys  of  the  Amazon,  the  La  Plata,  and  your  own  grand  Mississippi, 
and  their  tributaries  ? 

It  had  been  the  design  of  Mr.  Van  Antwerp  to  locate  himself  perma- 
nently somewhere  in  the  beautiful  valley  of  the  Mad  River,  to  which  he 
was  warmly  urged  by  General  Vance  and  other  friends ;  but  the  unex- 
pected damper  upon  the  railroad  enterprise  would  seem  to  have  changed  his 
purpose ;  and  we  find  him  in  November,  1833,  in  the  twenty-sixth  year  of 
his  age,  residing  at  the  capital  of  Indiana.  Indianapolis  was  then  a  very  new 
town,  in  the  heart  of  the  wilderness,  presenting  the  jnost  meagre  induce- 
ments, and  almost  inaccessible,  during  a  large  portion  of  each  year,  on 
account  of  the  wretched  and  nearly  impassable  condition  of  the  roads. 
And  here  again,  what  a  great  change  has  less  than  twenty  years  pro- 
duced !  Indianapolis,  now  a  charming  city,  of  perhaps  12,000  inhabitants, 
crowned  with  numerous  splendid  public  buildings  and  churches,  and 
scores  of  beautiful  private  dwellings,  with  railroads  diverging  from  it  in 
every  direction,  bears  little  resemblance,  in  truth,  to  her  youth,  at  the 
period  mentioned.     During  his  four  or  five  years'  residence  in  Indiana, 


VER    PLANCK   VAN    ANTWERP,    OF    IOWA.  343 

Mr.  Van  Antwerp,  young  as  be  was,  acted  a  somewhat  prominent  part 
iu  the  politics  of  the  state — his  party  associates  being,  among  others,  the 
late  Governor  James  AVhitcomb,  Gen.  T.  A.  Howard,  the  lion.  E.  A.  Han- 
negan,  and  Judge  Jolm  Law.  It  was  during  this  period,  that  the  contest 
occurred  for  the  Vice-Presidential  nomination,  between  Col.  Richard  M. 
Johnson  ("  Old  Tecumseh")  of  Kentucky,  and  the  Ilon.William  C.  Rives,  of 
Virginia — it  being  understood,  long  prior  to  the  meeting  of  the  Demo- 
cratic National  Convention,  that  Mr.  Van  Buren  would  undoubtedly  be 
the  nominee  of  that  body  for  the  Presidency,  to  succeed  Gen.  Jackson. 
The  personal  preferences  of  Mr.  Van  Buren  himself,  and  of  many  of  his 
friends,  were  understood  to  lean  towards  Mr.  Rives,  who  had  been  for  a 
long  time  upon  the  most  cordial  and  intimate  terms  with  him.  Mr. 
Van  Antwerp,  however,  having  become  a  resident  of  the  West,-  and 
identified  with  its  people,  preferred  on  this  account  the  nomination  of 
Col.  Johnson,  with  whose  ardent  friends  he  was  thrown  into  daily  inter- 
course. Accordingly,  in  his  correspondence  with  his  friends  iu  New  York, 
and  in  Congress  (among  whom  was  the  lamented  Silas  Wright),  Mr. 
Van  Antwerp  warmly  urged  the  nomination  of  Col.  Johnson.  When 
the  convention  met  at  Baltimore,  the  result  was  regarded  as  extremely 
doubtful — the  delegation  from  New  York  being  divided,  and  the  friends 
of  Mr.  Rives  adhering  to  him  with  great  pertinacity.  Silas  Wright  Avas 
one  of  that  delegation  ;  and,  after  arriving  at  Baltimore,  he  received  a  letter 
from  his  friend  Van  Antwerp,  again  earnestly  recommending  the  nomi- 
nation of  Col.  Johnson.  Mr.  Wright  decided  to  give  the  latter  his  sup- 
port, and  a  large  majority  of  his  colleagues  acting  with  him,  gave  their 
support  to  Col.  Johnson,  and  thus  made  him  the  successful  candidate.  It 
was  said  at  the  thue,  that  the  minority  of  the  New  York  delegation,  who 
favored  Mr.  Rives,  declined  to  act  further  with  their  colleagues,  and  left 
the  majority  thus  to  cast  the  vote  of  the  state.  The  subsequent  disaftec- 
tion  of  Mr.  Rives,  his  abandonment  of  the  Democratic  Party,  and  his  co- 
operation with  the  "  Whigs,"  are  all  familiar  to  the  country. 

In  the  State  Convention  of  the  Democracy  of  Indiana,  held  on  the  8th 
of  January,  1836,  to  nominate  candidates  for  Presidential  electors,  Mr. 
Van  Antwerp  was  a  delegate,  and  mainly  furnished  the  materials  for  the 
address  put  forth  by  that  body.  These  were  placed  by  him  iu  the  hands 
of  Mr.  Whitcomb,  who,  being  the  senior  of  Mr.  V.  A.  both  in  years  and 
in  residence  in  the  state,  moved  the  appointment  of  a  committee  (of 
which  Mr.  V^.  A.  was  also  a  member),  and  as  the  chairman  of  it,  prepared 
and  reported  the  address,  which  was  one  of  marked  abihty,  and  had  an 
extensive  influence  upon  the  contest. 

In  the  summer  of  1830,  Mr.  Van  Antwerp  was  invited  by  the  Secretary 
at  War  (Gen.  Cass)  as  a  member  from  Indiana  of  the  Board  of  Visitors 
at  West  Point;  and  in  1837,  he  received  an  appointment  from  the  same 
department,  as  secretary  to  a  commission  to  treat  with  the  Chippeway 
Indians,  at  Fort  Suelling  (near  the  falls  of  St.  Anthony).  The  Commis- 
sioners were.  Governor  Henry  Dodge,  of  Wisconsin,  and  Gen.  William 
R.  Smith,  of  Penn. — the  latter  of  whom  did  not  arrive  until  the  treaty 
was  over.  It  took  place  in  July,  and  was  an  occasion  of  unusual  interest, 
there  being  present  at  the  time  about  1300  Chippewas  and  700  Sioux — 
two  nations  always  at  bitter  enmity,  and  who  generally  fought  whenever 
they  met !    They  were  awed,  however,  by  the  warlike  preparations  of 


344  SKETCHES    OF    EMINENT    AMERICANS. 

the  celebrated  Captain  Martin  Scott,  then  commandant  of  the  garrison, 
and  by  the  presence  of  General  Dodge,  wlio  had  acquired  much  influence, 
and  the  reputation  of  a  "great  brave"  iu  his  wars  with  the  Indians. 
Everything  passed  off  quietly,  and  a  treaty,  drawn  up  by  the  secretary, 
was  finally,  at  the  end  of  three  weeks'  negotiations,  concluded,  whereby 
an  immense  extent  of  territory,  reaching  nearly  to  Lake  Superior,  and 
embracing  the  fine  region  of  the  Upper  Mississippi,  was  ceded  to  the 
United  States. 

Prior  to  the  making  of  this  treaty,  all  the  pine  lumber  that  came  to 
St.  Louis  and  other  towns  on  the  Upper  Mississippi  was  brought  down 
the  Alleghany  River,  from  the  interior  of  the  State  of  New  York,  and 
shipped  from  Pittsburgh  ! 

Here  again,  what  extraordinary  changes  have  sixteen  years  produced  ! 
Then,  no  white  man  dwelt  between  Prairie  du  Chien  and  Fort  Snelling ; 
and  the  visits  of  steamboats  were  so  rare,  that  our  commission  were 
obliged  to  descend  the  Mississippi  in  a  Mackinaw  boat,  "tying  up"  at 
night,  and  cooking  their  meals  upon  the  bank,  without  seeing  the  face 
of  a  white  man,  lor  the  whole  distance,  save  those  who  accompanied 
them.  No^v,  the  hundreds  and  thousands  of  persons  who  ascend  and 
descend  the  Upper  Mississippi  on  the  splendid  packets  of  that  river,, 
between  Galena  and  St.  Peter's,  and  who  have  seen  the  many  thriving 
and  handsome  towns  in  Iowa,  Wisconsin,  and  Minnesota,  will  hardly 
credit  the  above  assertions  ! 

During  the  latter  part  of  the  same  year  (183*7),  and  the  early  part  of 
1838,  Mr.  V.  A.  was  connected  with  the  removal  of  the  Cherokee  Indians 
from  Tennessee  and  Alabama ;  and,  as  disbursing  agent,  took  a  large 
amount  of  specie  down  the  Ohio  River,  and  up  the  Tennessee,  through 
"  the  suck"  in  the  mountains,  and  the  heart  of  the  Indian  country ;  a 
guard  of  a  corporal  and  six  privates,  having  been  detailed  to  him  from  a 
military  post  at  Fort  Calhoun,  on  the  Hiwasse  River.  He  repaired  from 
thence  to  Northern  Indiana,  to  aid  in  the  renioval  of  the  Potowattomies 
to  the  western  bank  of  ihe  Missouri.  While  thus  employed,  in  June  of 
18^8,  a  few  days  after  the  date  of  the  organization  of  the  Territorial 
government  of  Iowa,  he  received  a  commission  from  the  President  of  the 
U.  S.,  as  Receiver  of  Public  Moneys  for  the  district  of  lands  subject  to 
sale  at  Burlington.  This  was  confessedly  the  most  responsible  pecuniary 
position  assigned  by  the  government  in  that  territory ;  and  the  most 
flattering  testimonials  were  voluntarily  tendered  to  him  by  the  head  of 
the  Indian  Bureau  at  Washington,  as  to  the  prompt,  faithful,  and  satis- 
factory manner  in  which  he  had  dischai'ged  his  various  duties  while 
connected  therewith. 

The  post  of  Receiver  at  Burlington  was  held  by  Mr.  Van  Antwerp 
until  the  spring  of  1841,  when  lie  was  removed  by  John  Tyler  his 
"  accidency."  That  this  was  solely  on  political  grounds,  is  evident  from 
the  fact  that  no  charge  whatever  of  malfeasance  or  dereliction  of  official 
duty  was  ever  made  against  him.  None  such,  at  least,  was  ever  per- 
mitted to  see  the  light ;  and  it  is  well  known,  on  the  other  hand,  that 
his  discharge  of  his  responsible  and  arduous  duties  was  most  satisfactory 
to  the  department,  and  most  acceptable  to  the  people  of  the  land  district, 
without  distinction  of  party.  Those  duties  were  laborious  in  the  extreme, 
involving  the  receipt  of  very  large  amounts  of  specie  from  day  to  day, 


VER   PLANCK    VAN    ANTWERP,    OF    IOWA.  345 

and  tlie  safe  keeping  of  the  same,  without  the  usual  and  reasonable  aid 
of  government  vaults  and  clerk  hire  ;  besides  the  adjustment  of  hundreds 
of  bitterly  contested  pre-emption  cases ;  and  the  exemplary  fulfilment  of 
those  duties  by  Mr,  Van  Antwerp,  and  the  recognition  of  it  by  the  De- 
partment, constitute  one  of  those  rare  gratifications  of  the  "  honest  .nan." 
How  the  Commissioners  of  the  General  Land  Office  regarded  the  matter, 
will  appear  by  the  following  unofficial  letter  from  that  officer,  addressed 
voluntarily  to  Mr.  Van  Antwerp,  a  day  or  two  after  his  removal : 

''Washington  City,  26  April,  1841. 
"  Dear  Sir  : — You  have  doubtless  received  my  letter  of  day  before 
yesterday  (official)  announcing  that  the  President  had  appointed  succes- 
sors for  you  and  your  colleague,  before  the  expiration  of  your  term  of 
service.  It  gave  me  great  pain  to  be  the  channel  of  communication. 
You  have  had  a  most  laborious  and  responsible  office.  You  have 
received  and  disbursed  above  a  million  and  a  half  of  dollars,  and  have 
discharged  your  duties  with  exemplary  fidelity.  The  clerk  who  has 
the  adjustment  of  your  accounts  tells  me  that,  on  striking  the  balance, 
the  Oovernment  will  be  found  in  your  debt.  This  office,  as  you  are  aware, 
has  scarcely  ever  reversed  a  decision,  or  corrected  a  'procedure,  of  you  or 
of  either  of  your  colleagues ;  and  there  can  be  no  pretence  of  any  negli- 
gence, or  wilful  aberration  on  the  part  of  either  of  you,  in  the  discharge 
of  your  official  duties.  It  is  due  to  you  to  say  that,  in  my  opinion,  for 
intelligence,  p)rom2)titude,  industry,  and  integrity,  in  the  discharge  of  the 
duties  of  your  office,  vou  have  been  unsurpassed  by  any  connected 

WITH  THIS  BRANCH  OF  THE  PUBLIC  SERVICE. 

"  I  am,  Dear  Sir,  yours  very  respectfully, 

(Signed)  JAS.  WHITCOMB. 
"  Gen.  V.  P.  Van  Antwerp,  Burlington,  Iowa." 

Early  in  January,  1839,  the  Legislature  having  adopted  a  system  of 
laws  for  the  government  of  the  Territory,  Mr.  Van  Antwerp  was  appointed 
by  Governor  Lucas  the  first  Adjutant  General  of  the  miiitia  of  Iowa, 
a  post  which  he  resigned  in  1841,  and  whereby  he  acquired  the  military 
title  which  has  ever  since  attached  to  him.  We  shall,  therefore,  use  it, 
in  speaking  of  him  hereafter. 

The  first  session  of  the  Territorial  Legislature  of  Iowa  was  one  that 
will  long  be  remembered  by  those  who  were  present  in  Burlington  that 
winter.  A  sort  of  triangular  warfare — sometimes  exceedingly  acrimo- 
nious, while  at  others  highly  amusing — was  kept  up,  almost  from  its  com- 
mencement to  its  close,  between  the  Governor,  the  Secretary  (\V.  B. 
Conway,  a  man  of  fine  talents  and  no  mean  ability  as  a  satirist),  and  the 
Legislature.  A  majority  of  each  branch  of  the  latter  memoi-ialized  the 
President  of  the  United  States  to  remove  the  Governor  from  office  ! 
The  distinctions  of  "  Democrat "  and  "  Whig  "  were  entirely  lost  in  this 
controversy,  the  Governor  and  Secretary  being  both  Democrats;  and 
men  of  the  same  political  faith  being  ranged  against  each  other  in  bitter 
opposition.  In  fact,  up  to  that  period  little  had  been  said  in  the  territory 
upon  general  politics.  Throughout  all  this  warfare.  Gen.  Van  Antwerp 
pursued  the  same  discreet  and  conciliatory  course,  endeavoring,  in  every 
possible  mode,  to  cultivate  peace  among  the  belligerents ;  and  to  sup- 


346  SKETCHES    OF    EMINENT    AMERICANS. 

press  a  stiife  whicli  seemed  to  him  needless  in  itself,  and  would,  doubtless, 
be  injurious  to  the  best  interests  of  the  territory.  On  the  adjournment 
of  the  Legislature,  comparative  tranquillity  returned,  and  the  Governor, 
by  the  advice  of  Gen.  Van  Antwerp  and  others  to  the  President,  con- 
tinued, to  hold  his  place.  The  effects  of  this  quarrel  upon  the  politics  of 
Iowa  were  immediate  and  unfortunate.  The  memory  of  the  contest 
could  leave  no  other  than  unpleasant  feelings  upon  the  mind  of  the 
Governor ;  and  the  stratagem  of  the  Whigs  to  obtain  the  ascendency  in 
the  territory,  by  forming  personal  parties  in  the  ranks  of  the  majority, 
was  thus  rendered  partially  successful.  Had  this  state  of  things  continued, 
the  strife  at  the  polls  would  have  been  converted  into  one  of  "  Lucas "' 
and  "  anti-Lucas ;"  and  the  principles  which  separate  the  two  great  par- 
ties of  the  country  thereby  comparatively  lost  sight  of,  in  future  contests. 
This  condition  of  things,  and  the  desire  to  replace  the  then  delegate  in 
Congress,  by  one  of  more  reliable  political  principles,  led  to  the  adoption 
of  measures  for  the  more  thorough  organization  of  the  Democratic  party 
in  Iowa.  In  this  woik  probably  no  individual  was  more  efficient,  or 
contributed  more,  by  personal  consultation  and  advice  with  friends,  and 
essays  for  the  public  press,  than  Gen.  Van  Antwerp.  At  least  the  credit 
seems  to  have  been  allowed  him,  both  by  political  friends  and  adversaries  ; 
and  he  became,  in  consequence,  the  subject  of  such  notices,  from  the 
latter,  as  are  usually  dealt  out  by  the  inflamed  partisan  press.  In  his 
case,  as  in  many  others,  this  would  seem  to  have  been  a  very  fixlse  index 
of  the  estimation  of  him  by  all  classes  of  his  fellows, — as  probably  no 
public  man  has  engaged  to  a  greater  extent  the  respect  and  warm  per- 
sonal friendship  of  many  ardent  political  opponents,  of  the  highest 
standing  and  influence. 

The  immediate  results  of  the  organization  of  the  Democratic  party  in 
Iowa  were  the  return  to  the  Legislature  of  a  large  majority  of  members 
of  that  party  and  the  election  of  the  Hon.  A.  C.  Dodge,  then  Gen.  V.  A.'s 
colleague  (as  Hegister  of  the  Land  Office  at  Burlington)  as  Delegate  to 
Congress. 

In  November,  1841,  Gen.  Van  Antwerp  complied  with  the  solicita- 
tion of  many  friends,  and  established  a  newspaper  at  Iowa  City,  in  con- 
nexion with  Mr.  Thomas  Hughes,  called  "  Iowa  Capitol  Reporter," — 
the  capital  of  the  state  having  been  changed  by  an  act  of  the  Legislature, 
from  Burlington  to  Iowa  City.  An  individual  of  much  perseverance  and 
energy,  possessing  democratic  principles,  and  patronized  by  the  venerable 
Ex-Governor,  had  already  located  himself  at  the  seat  of  government,  and 
commenced  the  publication  of  a  journal  styled  "  The  Argus  ;"  but  his 
course  was,  clearly,  to  distract  and  divide  the  democratic  party  ;  and 
hence  the  urgent  invitation  to  Gen,  V.  A.  to  establish  another  press  there, 
to  counteract  the  evil  effects  of  the  "  Aig-us,"  and  get  rid  of  it,  if  possible. 
After  a  warm  contest,  the  "Iowa  Capitol  Reporter"  establishment 
was  designated  by  the  Legislature  to  execute  the  public  printing  ;  the 
publication  of  the  "  Argus  "  was  very  soon  abandoned  ;  and,  at  the  end 
of  a  few  months,  the  object  having  been  accomplished,  Gen.  Van.  Ant- 
werp, who  seems  to  have  never  designed  a  permanent  connection,  at  that 
time,  with  the  public  press,  withdrew  from  the  "Reporter,"  which  is  still, 
at  the  end  of  a  dozen  years,  published  as  the  democratic  organ  at  the 
capital  of  Iowa. 


VER    I'l.AXCK    VAN    ANTWERl',    OF    IOWA.  347 

In  the  winter  of  1842-3  were  developed  the  fii'st  indications  of  tliat 
rupture  in  the  Dernueratic  party  in  Missouri  which  afterwards  broke  out 
into  one  of  the  most  embittered  contests  of  our  history.  It  will  be 
remembered  for  years  to  come,  as  the  battle  between  the  "  Hards  "  and 
the  "Softs" — the  former  being  thus  styled  as  the  advocates  of  a  hard 
monnj  or  specie,  and  the  latter  of  a  paper  circulation.  The  only  De- 
moi-ratic  newspaper  published  at  that  time  in  St.  Louis,  was  the  "  Reporter," 
whose  editor,  a  political  veteran,  of  distinguished  tact  and  talents,  and  of 
nuuh  influence,  had  pursued  a  course  which  caused  great  dissatisfaction 
among  the  "Hards."  It  was  wdien  matters  thus  stood  that  Gen.  Van 
Antwerp  was  invited  by  such  men  as  Col:  Benton,  Ex-Gov.  John  Miller, 
Judges  Engle  and  Blair,  and  many  others,  to  establish  a  Democratic 
paper  in  St.  Louis.  The  position,  clearly,  was  not  desirable.  Hard 
labor  was  to  be  pei-foi'med  ;  and  hard  blows  received,  and  given.  Much 
acrimony  between  the  parties  already  existed  ;  and  the  war-cry  had  just 
been  raised  of  "The  War  Begun."  No  one  could  accept  such  a  post 
without  much  reluctance  and  self-distrust.  Gen.  Van  Antwerp,  how- 
ever, finally  consented;  and,  in  September,  1843,  established  the  "Mis- 
sourian  "  newspaper.  The  controversy  between  its  supporters  and  those 
of  the  "  Reporter  "  did  not,  as  will  readily  be  conceived,  lose  any  of  its 
sprig hiliness,  from  that  time  forth.  On  the  contrary,  it  was  kept  up 
with  "renewed  animation,"  and  became,  in  truth,  as  warm  a  contest  as 
any  produced  by  party  organization  in  our  country.  Public  meetings 
were  frequently  held,  and  were  the  scenes,  pretty  regularly,  of  the  utmost 
"noise  and  confusion,"  and,  sometimes,  of  personal  violence.  The 
"  Missourian,"  and  its  editor,  of  course  came  in  for  a  lion's  share  of  the 
ill  will  of  the  entire  Whig  party  and  the  "softs,"  and  of  all  who  differed 
with  them  in  opinion,  including  the  supporters  of  the  then  National 
Administration, — or  "Tylerites,"  who  had  also  their  newspaper  organ  in 
St.  Louis. 

In  the  spring  of  1844,  a  Democratic  State  Convention  was  held  in 
Jefferson  City,  the  Capital  of  Missouri,  and  nominated  candidates  for 
Governor,  Lieut.-Governor,  and  five  member^  of  Congress,  the  latter  of 
whom  were  to  be  elected  by  "  general  ticket,"  instead  of,  as  more  lately, 
by  districts.  Soon  thereafter  another  ticket  was  announced,  through  the 
columns  of  the  "  Reporter,"  composed  of  persons  who  had  previously 
acted  with  the  Democratic  party,  and  occupied  some  prominent  positions 
in  its  ranks.  The  Tyler  organ  in  St.  Louis,  with  some  four  or  five 
Democratic  presses  in  the  interior,  and  the  entire  W^hig  party  of  the 
State,  gave  to  the  latter  ticket  of  the  "softs"  their  cordial  support. 
The  election  took  place  in  August,  and  resulted  in  the  choice  of  the 
"  Hards,"  or  regular  Democratic  ticket,  and  of  a  Legislature  of  the  same 
shade,  by  a  majority  of  some  six  or  seven  thousand.  The 'presidential 
election,  which  followed  in  November — the  "two  wings"  and  their  presses, 
as  also  the  "Tylerites,"  having  fraternized  in  support  of  the  nominees — 
gave  to  Polk  and  Dallas  a  majority  of  some  ten  thousand  over  the  Whig 
ticket.  This  contest  over.  Gen.  Van  Antwerp  ceased  his  labors,  and 
heavy  pecuniary  sacrifice  for  the  paper  ;  and  the  following  spring  was 
recommended  to  the  new  President,  James  K.  Polk,  for  the  post  of  Com- 
missioner of  the  General  Land  Ofiice,  at  Washington  City.  Probably 
uo  stronger  recommendations  were  ever  laid  before  a  President  than  those 


348  SKETCHES    OF   EMINENT   AMERICANS. 

in  favor  of  General  Van  Antwerp  for  this  office — recommendations  not 
only  from  Missouri,  and  embracing  its  entire  delegation  in  Congress, 
Executive,  Presidential  Electors,  Democratic  members  of  the  Legislature, 
Ex-Governors,  &c.  &c.,  but  also  from  the  Congressional  Delegates  for 
Iowa  and  Wisconsin,  and  many  of  the  most  eminent  men  of  New  York. 
Prominent  among  the  latter  was  Silas  Wright,  who  had  contributed, 
as  was  universally  conceded,  more  than  any  other  man  to  the  election  of 
Mr.  Polk — saving  the  party,  in  fact,  from  defeat ;  and  whose  influence 
it  was  believed  would  be  authoritative  for  those  whom  he  should  favor. 
Yet  the  very  strong  recommendation  from  him  of  Gen.  V.  A.  failed  to 
have  its  anticipated  effect,  from  reasons  which  will  not  be  adverted  to 
here,  but  were  well  understood  at  the  time,  and  may  be  stated  on  some 
future  occasion.  The  following  are  extracts  from  the  letter  from  Mr. 
Wright  to  the  President. 

''Albany,  24  FeUy.,  1845. 

"  My  Dear  Sir  : — I  have  found  myself  compelled  to  decline  to  give 
open  letters  to  you  on  the  subject  of  applications  for  office,  from  considera- 
tions which  will  readily  suggest  themselves  to  you,  independent  of  that 
plain  justice  to  yourself.  In  one  or  two  cases  I  have  given  sealed  and 
private  letters,  and  in  a  few  others  letters  of  introduction,  which  have 
been,  in  all  cases,  declared  to  have  no  other  design  ;  and  that  declaration 
has  been  made  with  an  intention  that  it  should  be  accepted  as  made^ 

"  This  letter  I  write  voluntarily,  on  behalf  of  one  who  deserves  it  at  my 
hands.  I  refer  to  Ver  Planck  Van  Antwerp,  Esq.,  of  St.  Louis,  Missouri, 
who  is  to  be  an  applicant  for  Commissioner  of  the  General  Land  Office. 
Mr.  Van  Antwerp  is  a  native  of  this  county,  as  is  his  wife,  and  both  have 
here  numerous  and  most  respectable  connexions  belonging  to  the  Demo- 
cratic party.  T  have  known  him  pereonally  for  fifteen  years,  which  was 
about  the  time  he  was  admitted  to  practise  law  in  this  State.  During  his 
whole  residence  in  the  West,  therefore,  he  has  been  an  acquaintance,  and 
a  frequent  and  familiar  correspondent.  In  that  way,  I  have  been  fre- 
quently informed  of  his  political  opinions,  feelings,  and  action ;  and  I  can 
safely  say,  /  have  never  known  him  wrong  upon  an  important  question,  or 
faltering  his  support  of  the  right,  whatever  might  he  at  the  time  his  local 
or  personal  interests.  He  has  been  much  connected  with  the  press,  for 
the  last  ten  or  twelve  years,  and  his  paper  has  always  held  the  language 
and  principles  of  his  private  letters.  He  has  ever  been  a  Democrat  in 
principle,  feeling,  and  action,  and  true  and  faithful  to  his  party  and  its 
interests.  He  is  a  young  man  of  decided  talents,  and  a  quick,  active  mind ; 
very  amiable  and  gentlemanly  in  his  personal  deportment  and  intercourse, 
and  as  faithful  in  his  j^'fivate  friendship  as  in  his  politics.  I  consider  him 
entirely  capable  of  discharging  the  duties  of  the  place  in  question,  and 
incorru'ptibly  honest.  *  *  *  I  understand  he  will  be  presented  from 
the  State  of  Missouri ;  and  if  you  shall  find  it  right  and  proper  to  give 
this  office  to  that  State,  I  am  sure  you  will  secure  in  him  a  competent  and 
faithful  officer  for  the  public,  and  one  whose  fidelity  to  yourself  will .  be 
certain,  and  with  whom  the  transactions  of  business  will  be  always  agree- 
able.    *     *     *  "I  am,  most  truly  yours, 

"(Signed)  SILAS  WRIGHT." 

"  His  Excellency  James  K.  Polk,  President  Elect." 


VER    PLANCK    VAN    ANTWERP,    OF    IOWA.  349 

Such  was  the  letter  of  Governor  Wright.  From  a  score  and  more  of 
others  the  following  extracts  are  made  :  — 

From  Governor  Henry  Dodge ^  of  Wisconsin. 
"In  1837,  General  Smith,  then  of  Pennsylvania,  and  myself  were 
appointed  Commissioners  by  the  President,  to  treat  with  the  Chippewa 
Indians,  for  a  large  tract  of  country  on  the  Upper  Mississippi.  General 
Van  Antwerp  was  appointed  Secretary  to  the  Commission.  General  Smith 
failing  to  attend  the  Treaty,  it  devolved  on  me  to  act  alone.  On  that 
occasion  I  found  General  Van  Antwerp  not  only  a  good  Secretary,  but  an 
able  adviser,  w/to  rendered  me  important  and  efficient  service  in  nei/otluting 
a  Treaty  with  the  C'hijypewas.  He  is  a  man  of  talents  of  a  high  oixler, 
of  great  energy  and  decision  of  character,  and  qualified  for  ahhost  any 
service  within  the  gift  of  the  President.  His  removal  from  the  office  of 
Receiver  of  Public  Moneys,  at  Burlington,  at  the  commencement  of  Mr. 
Tyler's  Administration,  was  because  he  was  a  Democrat,  devoted  to  the 
cause  of  Democracy,  and  had  taken  an  active  and  efficient  part  in  draw- 
ing the  party  lines  in  the  Territory  of  Iowa,  which  resulted  in  giving  tJie 
Democratic  party  the  ascendency  in  that  Territory^ 

From  the  Hon.  A.  C.  Dodge,  of  Iowa. 

"  General  Van  Antwerp  is  most  favorably  known  in  the  Territory  of 
Iowa.  He  ffiled  within  her  borders,  for  several  years,  a  high  and  most 
responsible  office  under  the  Government  of  the  United  States,  with  credit 
to  himself  and  universal  satisfaction  to  our  citizens.  His  appointment  to 
the  station  of  Commissioner  of  the  General  Land  Office  would  be  hailed 
with  joy  and  satisfaction  by  them. 

"  To  the  ability  with  which  General  V.  A.  discussed  the  great  political 
questions  of  the  day  are  we  inore  indebted  for  the  permanent  ascendency 
of  Democratic  principles  in  the  Territory  of  Iowa  than  j^erhaps  to  that  of 
any  other  individual. 

''  The  office  of  Commissioner  of  the  General  Land  Office  is  one  of  great 
importance  to  the  people  of  the  new  States  and  Territories ;  and,  as  such, 
it  is  of  much  concern  to  them  that  it  should  be  filled  by  one  who,  whilst 
he  shall  vigilantly  guard  the  interests  of  the  Government,  should,  at  the 
same  time,  undei-stand  and  protect  those  of  the  States  and  Territories  in 
which  the  public  domain  is  situated  ;  thus  producing  union  and  harmony 
in  our  Land  System.  Such  an  individual  I  know  General  Van  Antwerp 
to  be.  To  legal  attainments  and  talents  of  a  high  order,  he  unites  a 
practical  knowledge  of  the  workings  of  our  Land  System,  which  pecu- 
liarly qualify  him  to  discharge  the  duties  of  Commissioner." 

From  the  Hon.  Thomas  H.Benton,  of  Missouri. 

"  I  believe  the  State  of  Missouri,  one  of  the  States  which  contain  the 
greatest  quantity  of  Public  Lands,  has  never  had  one  of  her  citizens  in 
the  General  Land  Office  in  this  city.  She  now  presents  one  for  employ- 
ment, in  the  person  of  General  Van  Antwerp,  whose  qualifications 
are: 

'  1.  Great  personal  and  family  respectability. 

'2.  Intellectual  and  moral  worth. 

*3.  Knowledge  of  the  business,  from  having  served  in  the  Land  Office 


350  SKETCHES    OF    EMINENT    AMERICANS. 

in  Iow:i,  with  fidelity  and  correctness,  until  turned  out  by  Mr.  Tyler  for 
his  Democracy.  The  letter  of  Mr.  Whitcomb  contains  this  passage 
[extract  from  the  letter  of  Mr.  Whitcomb  is  given  above]. 

'  4.  Legal  education,  and  knowledge  of  mathematics. 

*5.  Twelve  years'  residence  in  the  West,  where  the  public  lands  lie, 
to  wit,  in  Indiana,  Iowa,  and  Missouri. 

'  6.  The  unanimous  support  of  the  Delegations  now  in  Congress  from 
Missouri,  Iowa,  and  Wisconsin. 

'  7.  Personal  and  political  fidelity  to  his  friends  and  party. 

'  8.  Valuable  service  in  greatly  contributing  to  save  the  State  of  Mis- 
souri from  the  conibination  of  the  rotten  fart  of  the  Democracy  with  the 
Whigs: 

"  For  the  above  reasons,  and  others,  I  recommend  Ver  Planck  Van 
Antwerp  for  the  place  of  Commissioner  of  the  General  Land  Office." 

From  Ex-Governor  Marmaduke,  of  Missouri. 

"  Perhaps  there  is  no  man  in  the  Union  better  qualified  to  discharge 
the  duties  of  Commissioner  of  the  General  Land  Office  than  General  Van 
Antwerp.  He  has  resided  many  years  in  the  Western  country — in  the 
midst  of  the  public  lands;  has  a  general  acquaintance  with  most  of  the 
business  men  of  the  West ;  and  add  to  these  qualifications,  that  he  is  a 
man  of  great  energy  of  character,  industry,  application  to  business,  of 
sterling  integrity  and  worth,  and  of  tried  Dimocracy,  it  does  appear  to 
me  that  a  better  appointment  than  General  Van  Antwerp  cannot  be 
made. 

"  General  V.  A.'s  location,  too,  is  favorable,  being  West  of  the  Missis- 
sippi river.  This  would  be  the  first  appointment  of  any  importance  that 
has  been  made  from  that  portion  of  the  Union.  His  appointment  would 
be  regarded  by  the  whole  West  as  evidence  on  the  part  of  your  Admi- 
nistration of  a  desire  to  consult  the  best  interests  of  the  people  of  that 
section  of  country." 

From  the  Hon.  John  Van  Buren,  of  New  York,  addressed  to  Senator  Dix. 

"  I  ask  your  friendly  offices  for  General  Van  Antwerp,  of  St.  Louis, 
whose  name  will  be  presented  to  President  Polk  for  the  Commissioner- 
ship  of  the  General  Land  Office.  General  V.  A.  is  the  editor  of  the 
'  Missourian,'  and  a  warm  friend  of  Col.  Benton.  *  *  *  My  father 
and  Mr.  Wriglit  have  given  him  the  strongest  recommendations.  *  * 
He  has  been  for  years  an  intimate  friend  of  mine,  and  at  times  an  inmatie 
of  our  family. 

"  You  well  know  his  connexions  in  Coeymans,  the  Ver  Plancks,  Van 
Antwerps,  and  McCartys,  as  also  those  of  his  wife,  who  is  a  daughter 
of  the  late  John  Van  Ness  Yates,  and  an  intelligent  and  accomplished 
woman.  *  *  *  General  V.  A.  was  educated  at  West  Point.  I  will  regard 
any  aid  you  can  afford,  in  securing  to  him  the  post  mentioned,  or  any 
other  for  which  he  may  ask,  as  calculated  to  subserve  a  capable,  honest, 
and  deserving  man,  as  advantageous  to  the  public  service,  and  an  act  of 
personal  friendship  to  myself." 

The  foregoing  are  extracts  from  a  few  out  of  a  multitude  of  letters  of 
a  similar  character,  and  all  from  men  of  the  very  highest  standing  in  the 


VER    PLANCK   VAN    ANTWERP,    OF    IOWA.  351 

Democratic  party  at  tbat  period  (March,  1845),  laid  before  President 
Polk  in  favor  of  General  Van  Antwerp.  It  would  need  no  over-zealous 
friendship  for  the  latter  to  justify  the  remark  of  one  of  his  sanguine 
supporters,  that  such  letters^  and  those  which  accompanied  them,  were 
"  strong  enough  to  make  him  Secretary  of  State  !"  Yet  they  were  not 
sufficiently  so,  as  the  result  proved,  to  make  him  Commissioner  of  the 
Land  Office.  The  letter  of  Mr.  Wright  proves  that  General  V,  A.  was 
his  confidential  and  trusted,  as  well  as  ardent,  friend — no  small  political 
wealth  for  the  latter,  and  no  mean  endorsement !  for  it  ms.j  truly 
be  said  that  Silas  Wright  was  one  of  the  noblest,  and  purest,  as  well 
as  one  of  the  most  beloved  of  Democratic  leaders ;  and  though  he 
promptly  and  decidedly  refused  the  Presidential  nomination,  which 
was  thereupon  conferred  upon  another,  yet  thousands  looked  forward 
to  some  future  day,  when  his  scruples  might  be  overcome,  and  his 
great  capacity  and  worth  assigned  to  its  befitting  station — the  Pre- 
sidency of  the  Republic.  Alas !  he  went  down  soon  thereafter  to  a 
premature  grave.  In  July,  1845,  General  Van  Antwerp  returned  to  his 
former  post  of  Receiver  of  Public  Moneys  in  Iowa.  At  that  time  the 
adoption  of  a  constitution,  and  the  admission  of  the  Territory  into  the 
Union,  as  a  State,  were  the  great  and  interesting  themes  of  discussion. 
The  vote  upon  the  question  was  taken  on  the  first  Monday  in  August 
ensuing,  and  was  decisive  in  the  negative  by  a  considerable  majority  ;  the 
agitation  of  the  subject  was  immediately  revived,  and  General  Van  Ant- 
werp took  strong  ground  in  favor  of  admission,  urging  on  all  suitable  occa- 
sions the  importance  and  necessity  of  the  step,  to  the  best  interests  of 
Iowa.  At  a  public  meeting  held  in  February,  1846,  at  Fairfield,  the  seat 
of  justice  of  Jefl:erson  county.  General  Van  Antwerp  introduced  a  series 
of  spirited  resolutions,  which  were  adopted,  warmly  sustaining  the 
administration  of  Mr.  Polk,  and  indicating  the  principles  which  should 
pervade  the  proposed  constitution  of  Iowa.  Some  of  tliese  principles 
were  violently  attacked,  not  by  political  opponents  alone,  but  by  members 
of  his  own  party  throughout  the  Territory.  They  were  taken  up,  how- 
ever, and  sustained  by  similar  meetings  in  other  counties  ;  and  when  the 
Convention  met  at  the  capitol,  in  the  following  May,  to  prepare  a  con- 
stitution, were  incorporated,  with  but  one  or  two  exceptions,  into  that 
instrument,  and  still  remain  as  part  of  the  fundamental  law  of  Iowa. 
One  of  the  principles  proposed  by  Gen.  V.  A.,  and  voted  down  by  the 
Convention,  was  the  election  of  Judges  of  the  Supreme  Court,  as  well  as 
of  the  Districts.  At  that  time  none  of  the  great  states.  New  York, 
Pennsylvania,  Ohio,  &c!,  had  adopted  the  principle  of  an  elective 
judiciary.  There  can  be  little  doubt  that  were  the  same  question  now 
submitted  to  the  "  state  wisdom "  of  Iowa,  it  would  be  approved  with 
entire  unanimity.  General  Van  Antwerp  was  on  a  visit  to  Iowa  city 
while  the  Convention  was  in  session,  and  exerted  his  influence  in  favor 
of  the  propositions  embraced  in  his  Fairfield  resolutions  ;  and  in  reference 
thereto,  a  gentleman  who  was  a  member  of  that  body,  in  a  letter  written 
to  Gen.  V.  A.,  not  long  since,  upon  the  present  condition  and  prospects 
of  the  country,  says  :  "  I  am  in  hopes  the  people  of  Iowa  may  be  able  to 
resist  the  swelling  tide  of  speculation  that  presses  us  on  all  sides,  and 
seems,  at  times,  destined  to  break  down  the  barriers  so  judiciously  inter- 
posed by  our  Constitution.     Well  do  I  remember  your  visit  to  Iowa  city, 


352  SKETCHES    OF    EMINENT    AMERICANS. 

at  a  very  critical  period,  while  the  Convention  which  framed  that  instru- 
ment was  in  session.  The  sentiments  expressed  by  you  on  that  occasion 
— so  free,  so  frank,  so  firm,  and  so  truly  Democratic — exercised  much 
influence  upon  the   incorporation  into  the  Constitution  of  some  of  its 

most  important  features." 

St  *  *  *  *  *  * 

The  Constitution  was  adopted  by  the  people  of  Iowa,  as  it  came  from 
the  Convention,  and  was  approved  by  Congress  in  the  next  December 
(1846). 

Soon  after  the  meeting  of  the  first  State  Legislature,  Gen.  A.  C  Dodge 
(the  Territorial  delegate  to  Congress)  from  the  southern  part  of  the 
state,  and  Judge  Thomas  Wilson,  from  the  north,  were  nominated,  with 
much  unanimity,  by  the  Democratic  members  of  that  body,  as  candidates 
for  the  oflice  of  U.  S.  Senator. 

There  were  in  this  Legislature  twenty-eight  regularly  nominated  and 
elected  Democrats,  twenty-seven  Whigs  and  three  irregular  Democrats,  vul- 
garly styled  "  Possums  ;"  and,  owing  to  this  peculiar  condition  of  things, 
no  election  could  be  made.  The  "  Possums"  were  avowedly  hostile  to  Gen. 
Dodge,  and  willing  to  vote  for  any  other  southern  Democrat  agreed  upon 
in  caucus.  Thereupon  the  name  of  General  Dodge  was  withdrawn,  and 
General  Van  Antwerp  was  nominated  in  his  stead,  by  the  Democratic 
members  on  the  first  ballot,  and  by  a  decisive  majority  over  all  other 
names  proposed.  It  was  at  once  ascertained,  however,  that  the  profes- 
sions of  the  "Possums"  were  only  professions,  and  that  their  determina- 
tion was  to  elect  no  Democrat  of  any  character  and  repute  to  the  U.  S. 
Senate  that  session.  They  promptly  refused  to  vote  for  Gen.  Van 
Antwerp,  as  they  had  for  Gen.  Dodge,  and  the  session  passed  away  with- 
out an  election. 

On  the  breaking  out  of  the  war  with  Mexico,  General  Van  Antwerp 
promptly  tendered  his  services  by  letter  to  President  Polk,  and  asked  to 
be  authorized  to  raise  a  regiment  for  the  campaign.  His  proposition  was 
not  accepted ;  and  it  may  be  mentioned  as  a  singular  fact,  that  while 
numei'ous  requisitions  were  made  upon  the  neighboring  States  of  Illinois 
and  Missouii,  not  one  regiment  was  called  for  from  Iowa.  In  the  Presi- 
dential canvass  of  1848, 'General  Van  Antwerp,  in  accordance  with  the 
uniform  action  of  his  life,  gave  an  earnest  and  efiicient  support  to 
Governor  Cass,  the  nominee  of  the  Democratic  party.  This  course,  in 
consideration  of  the  General's  warm  personal  attachment,  and  many  obli- 
gations to  Mr.  Van  Buren,  was  most  creditable  to  hiin,  both  as  a  politician 
and  a  man.  Yet,  strange  to  say,  there  were  those,  even  of  his  own  paity, 
who  sought,  and  not  unsuccessfully,  to  render  his  action  in  the  matter  to 
his  disadvantage.  It  seemed  to  be  expected  from  him,  by  some  persons, 
that,  in  shameful  prostitution  of  all  honorable  feeling,  he  should  lend 
himself  to  the  jjeriowaZ  abuse,  then  so  profusely  heaped  upon  the  head 
of  Mr.  Van  Buren.  This  he  very  properly  refused  to  do,  at  the  same  time 
signalizing  himself,  by  every  honorable  resource,  in  aid  of  the  election  of 
General  Cass.  The  following  brief  extract,  from  the  synopsis  of  a  speech 
made  by  himself,  and  published  at  the  time  in  the  Democratic  papers  of 
the  State,  "  defined  his  position,"  in  a  manner  that  elicited  the  respect 
of  every  honorable  man  and  true  Democrat : — "  General  Van  Antwerp 
being  present,  by  request,  at  a  meeting  of  the  Cass  and  Butler  Club,  in 


VER    PLANCK    VAN    ANTWERP,    OF    IOWA.  353 

this  place,  on  Monday  evening  last,  and  called  upon  to  address  it, 
responded  to  the  call.  In  the  course  of  his  remarks,  having  stated  briefly 
the  reasons  why,  in  his  opinion,  the  nominees  of  the  Baltimore  Convention 
ought  to  receive  the  earnest  support  of  the  democracy  of  Iowa,  and  that 
he  should — as  he  had  declared  immediately  on  their  nominations,  and 
repeatedly  since,  he  would — give  them  his  support;  he  alluded  feelingly 
to  the  personal  relations  which,  commencing  with  his  boyhood,  had 
existed  between  another  of  the  candidates  (Mr.  Van  Buren)  and  himself. 
'Towards  Mr.  Van  Buren,'  said  Gen.  V.  A.,  'though  bound  to  hiin  by 
no  ties  of  consanguinity,  I  have  felt,  and  now  feel,  much  as  a  son  should 
feel  towards  a  lather.  He  has  been  my  friend;  has  rendered  me  import- 
ant services  ;  I  was  reared  by  his  side  ;  have  partaken  often  of  his  generous 
hospitalities  ;  and  felt  at  times  almost  as  if  I  were  a  member  of  his 
family.  These  considerations,'  added  Gen.  V.  A.,  '  must  forbid,  as  they 
have  done  hitherto,  my  warring,  by  word  or  deed,  on  Mr.  Van  Buren.  No 
inducement,  political  or  otherwise,  shall  force  me  to  do  it.  There  is  a 
maxim,  as  old  as  the  hills,  which  implies  that  when  you  have  pronounced 
a  man  incapable  of  gratitude,  you  have  said  the  worst  you  can  of  him ; 
in  other  words,  that  a  heartless  ingrate  may  be  safely  set  down  as  one 
capable  of  any  act  of  baseness.  Now,  I  am  a  believer  in  the  truth  of 
this  maxim ;  and  I  am  not  going,  for  any  earthly  consideration,  to  sub- 
ject myself,  justly,  to  be  ranked  in  that  class — already  quite  too  nume- 
rous for  the  credit  of  human  nature !  I  have  felt  myself,  before  now, 
too  keenly  the  gnawing  of  the  ingrate's  envenomed  tooth  ever  to  turn  it 
upon  another.  The  fangs  of  the  viper  could  give  no  greater  pain  to  a 
heart  rightly  constituted  ;  and  I  pray  God  to  guide  me,  always,  against 
inflicting  it.  But,  I  have  a  high  duty  to  perform,  as  an  American 
citizen,  and  I  do  not  conceive  that  I  should  perform  it  properly,  were  I 
to  sutler  my  feelings  of  personal  friendship  to  carry  me  away  into  an 
attitude  of  hostility  to  the  great  party  with  which  1  have  invariably  acted, 
and  towards  whose  organization  and  support,  in  different  states,  and  here 
especially,  I  have  dei-oted  the  services  of  a  large  portion  of  my  life.' 

"  Gen.  V.  A.  then  went  on  to  allude  to  the  action  of  the  Democratic 
National  Conv€;ntion,  at  Baltimore,  and  stated  that  there  were  several 
others  whose  nominations  he  would  have  preferred  to  that  of  the  distin- 
guished individual  upon  whom  the  choice  of  that  body  had  fallen  ;  and 
the  election  of  either  of  whom — as  he  trusted  was  the  case  with  the 
nominees. — would  have  been  morally  certain,  because  it  would  have  pre- 
sented the  party  with  an  undivided  front  in  every  portion  of  the  union, 
and  especially  in  the  great  State  of  New  York,  whose  36  electoral  votes 
— equal  to  the  aggregate  of  those  of  some  nine  of  the  smaller  and  younger 
members  of  the  Union,  and  making  about  one-sixth  of  the  entire  vote  to  he 
cast — he  regarded  it  important  to  secure  ! 

"  However,  the  nomination  once  made,  he  had,  being  present  when 
the  Convention  was  in  Session  (and  subsequently  while  on  a  visit  to- 
New  York),  appealed  earnestly  to  his  old  friends  there,  who  were  dissatis- 
fied with  it,  to  desist  from  making  another.  They  had  adopted  a  different 
course,  and  now  there  remained  none  o  her  for  him  to  pursue,  than  todo^ 
as  he  had  always  done  before — act  with  the  great  Democratic  party  of 
the  Union  r 

"  The  above  is  barely  an  extract  from  the  reported  synopsis  of  the 

VOL.  ui.  23 


354  SKETCHES    OF    EMINENT    AMERICANS. 

Speech  of  General  Van  Antwerp,  on  the  occasion  referred  to.  He  proceeded 
to  demonstrate,  at  some  length,  the  great  importance  of  the  success  of  the 
nominees  of  the  BaUimore  Convention,  to  sustain  the  principles  of  the 
Democratic  party  ;  adverting,  by  way  of  illustration,  to  the  then  position  of 
parties  in  Congress,  as  well  as  that  of  the  'Whig'  candidate  with  regard 
to  the  Veto  power."  '  With  a  majority  ulready,^  said  Gen.  V.  A.,  '  in  one 
branch  of  Congress  (the  House  of  Representatives),  and  the  assurance 
from  their  candidate  for  the  Presidency  that  he  will  withhold  the  Veto, 
untii'iug  efforts  will  be  directed  to  get  control  of  the  other;  and  they 
have  already  gained  one  senator  in  Pennsylvania,  and  another  in  Florida, 
to  sa}'  nothing  of  other  states,  during  the  present  contest.' 

The  editorial  article  in  the  newspaper  from  which  the  above  extracts 
are  taken,  concludes  thus:  "We  do  not  pretend,  of  course,  to  give,  in 
the  above  sketch  of  the  remarks  of  Genei'al  Van  Antwerp,  the  precise 
language  in  which  they  were  uttered,  but  only  their  substance.  We 
listened  to  them  with  much  satisfaction,  as  coming  from  one  who  has 
been  an  ardent  and  uniform  supporter  of  the  Democratic  cause,  and  so 
did  those  present  in  the  meeting  with  us,  as  was  frequently  made  mani- 
fest by  their  marks  of  approbation." 

Some  time  prior  to  the  delivery  of  this  speech,  a  state  convention, 
composed  of  persons  suj)porting  Mr.  Van  Buren  for  the  Pi-esidency,  had 
met  in  lovva  City,  and  placed  the  name  of  General  Van  Antwerp  on  their 
ticket  as  a  candidate  for  elector.  The  step  was  taken  without  consulting 
him  on  the  subject,  and  without  his  knowledge  or  consent,  on  the  ground 
solely  of  the  relations  known  to  have  existed  between  him  and  Mr.  Van 
Buren,  and  his  personal  friendship  for  that  gentleman.  Jmraedialely  on 
learning  the  fact,  through  the  newspapers,  Gen.  V.  A.  promptly  declined 
the  nomination,  in  "  A  Card,"  over  his  signature,  in  which  he  declared 
his  determination  to  support  the  nominees  of  the  Baltimore  Democratic 
Conuention.  The  course  pursued  by  Gen.  V.  A.,  then,  in  this  transaction, 
though  sought  to  be  turned  to  his  disadvantage,  and  not,  as  alieady 
remarked,  without  effect,  was  precisely  that  which  every  honorable  man, 
truly  devoted  to  his  principles,  would  have  pursued,  to  wit  :  while 
continuing  to  act,  firmly  and  consistently,  with  his  party,  refusing  as 
firmly,  and  no  less  properly,  to  be  either  drawii  or  driven  into  denunciation 
and  ubai,e  of  one  who  had  always  been  hisfri(nd.  To  have  pursued  any 
different  course  might,  likely  enough,  have  gained  him  temporary 
applause  from  some  people,  but  it  could  not  have  failed  to  carry  with  it 
the  just  scorn  of  every  right-i'eeling  and  right-thinking  man,  even  then, 
and  with  fourfold  force  thereafter !  It  wiis  exactly  one  of  those  emer- 
gencies which  sometimes  occur  to  "  try  men's  souls,"  and  Gen.  V.  A. 
proved  himself  fully  equal  to  it. 

On  the  accession  to  power  of  the  Whig  Administration,  in  1849,  Gen. 
V.  A.  shared  in  the  fate  of  war ;  and,  with  his  political  associates  every- 
where, was  again  removed  from  office.  In  June,  1850,  a  Democratic 
State  Convention  assembled  at  Iowa  City,  to  nominate  candidates  for 
state  officers.  The  three  prominent  names  brought  before  the  Convention, 
for  the  nomination  of  Governor,  were  Edward  Johnston,  Esq.  (brother  to 
Ex-Governor  Wm.  F.  Johnston  of  Penna.),  General  Van  Antwerp,  and 
Stephen  Hempstead,  Esq.  Messrs.  Johnston  and  Hempstead  were  both 
lawyers,  of  high  standing,  and  had  been  prominent  in  public  life  ever 


VER    PLANCK    VAN    ANTWERP,    OF    IOWA.  3oo 

since  the  organization  of  the  territorial  government  of  Iowa,  in  1838. 
After  several  ineft'ectual  ballotings  by  the  Convention,  the  vote  on  the 
seventh  ballot  stood  :  Johnston,  44  ;  Van  Antwerp,  36  ;  Hempstead,  30. 
The  whole  number  of  delegates  .was  110,  and  it  was  most  confidently 
believed  by  the  friends  of  Gen.  V.  A.,  whose  vote  had  increased  regularly, 
that  on  the  next  ballot  or  two  he  would  be  nominated.  The  name  of 
Mr.  Johnston  was  dropped,  however,  soon  thereafter,  and  its  place 
supplied  by  that  of  Dr.  Enos  Lowe,  who  received  42  votes ;  and  then,  by 
a  dexterous  couj)  de  main,  a  portion  of  the  delegates  who  had  voted  for 
the  latter,  were  suddenly  and  unexpectedly  carried  over  to  Mr.  Hempstead, 
who  thereupon  received  the  nomination,  and  was  elected,  in  August,  by 
a  large  majority  over  his  Whig  competitor. 

When  the  Legislature  met,  in  the  following  winter,  one  of  its  acts  was 
to  legislate  out  of  office  the  then  Board  of  Public  WVjrks  of  the  state, 
consisting  of  a  President,  Secretaiy,  and  Treasurer,  and  provide  for  the 
appointment,  in  their  stead,  of  a  Commissioner  and  Register,  to  perform 
their  duties.  The  position  of  Commissioner,  voluntarily  tendered  by 
Governor  Hempstead  to  General  Van  Antwerp,  was  accepted.  This 
duty,  of  all  others  in  the  state,  was  the  one  of  the  most  responsibility  and 
labor,  and  upon  the  manner  of  its  fulfilment  depended  the  alternative  of 
the  hopeless  abandonment  or  successful  prosecution  of  the  Des  Moines 
River  Improvement— the  great  work  of  the  state.  The  conditioi\  uf  tiiat 
work,  and  of  the  Congressional  Grant  of  land  upon  which  its  completion 
was  dependent,  was  one  of  almost  crushing  discouragement,  and  many 
of  its  warmest  friends  despaired  of  any  brighter  prospects.  All  op'-ra- 
tions  upon  the  work  had  ceased,  and  a  heavy  debt  had  accrued.  'J'lie 
grant  of  lands, -claimed  at  one  time  to  the  sources  of  the  river,  had  been 
cut  oft'  at  the  Racoon  Forks,  by  a  decision  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior 
of  the  U.  S. ;  and  that  decision  was  sustained  by  his  successor  in  office, 
and  by  the  written  opinion  of  the  U.  S.  Attorney-General — a  decision 
cutting  oft"  nearly  a  million  acres  of  land,  and  leaving  321,000  acres,  of 
which  200,000  had  been  already  sold,  and  the  means  expended.  Such 
was  the  gloomy  aspect  of  aft'airs  when  General  Van  Antwerp  entered 
upon  his  duties  as  Commissioner;  and  hundreds  of  tongues  proclaimed 
that  it  would  never  become  brighter !  Yet,  within  less  than  eight  months 
after  taking  the  oath  of  office.  Gen.  V.  A.  liad  succeeded,  through  the 
steps  adopted  by  him,  to  effect  that  object;  and  having  spent  nearly  one- 
third  of  the  time  in  Washington  City  in  procuring  a  reversal  of  the 
adverse  decision  of  the  Secretaries  of  the  Interior,  and  of  the  Attorney- 
General.  More  singular  still — and  it  is  a  circumstance  believed  to  be 
without  parallel  since  the  organization  of  the  government — this  reversal 
was  procured  by  the  action  of  the  very  cabinet  of  which  one  of  the  said 
Secretaries  and  the  Attorney-General  were  members  !  And  thus  were 
secured,  for  the  state  of  Iowa,  and  the  Des  Moines  River  Improvement, 
nearly  a  million  of  acres  of  lands,  than  which  there  are  none  i-icher  in 
mineral  and  agricultural  wealth  in  all  the  broad  compass  of  Western 
Prairies  and  Valleys  !  Again,  also,  notwithstanding  the  great  embarrass- 
ments resulting  from  a  heavy  debt,  and  the  condition  of  a  number  of 
locks  and  dams,  partly  built,  when  he  went  into  office.  Gen.  V.  A.  was 
successful  in  opening  the  navigation  of  the  river  to  steamboats  in  less  thai»^ 
a  year,  after  accomplishing  the  important  work  above  briefly  adverted  to. 


356  SKETCHES    OF   EMINENT    AMERICANS, 

This  beautiful  river  had  been  so  obstructed,  for  several  years,  by  un- 
ifinished  dams  and  other  obstacles,  that  it  was  wholly  useless  for  purposes 
of  navigation  ;  and  the  development  of  its  clear  and  deep  channel  as  a 
perpetual  and  free  water  road  to  a  steady  market  for  the  products  of  the 
noble  valley  of  the  Des  Moines,  which  traverses  the  state  400  miles, 
diagonally,  cutting  it  into  two  equal  parts,  was  hailed  with  every  sign  of 
public  satisfaction.  Having  accomplished  these  two  great  objects,  and 
secured  a  basis  for  the  completion  of  the  work.  General  Van  Antwerp 
declined  to  accept  the  office  for  a  second  term,  and  made  known  such 
determination  to  his  friends  when  called  upon  to  be  again  a  candidate. 
The  inadequacy  of  the  compensation  for  such  arduous  and  responsible 
duties,  and  a  much  impaired  state  of  health,  were  suflBcient  reasons  for 
the  determination.  The  following  article,  from  the  "  Keokuk  Dispatch," 
of  March  1,  1853,  with  the  annexed  resolutions  of  the  Democratic  State 
Convention,  will  serve  to  show  the  high  estimate  placed  upon  the 
services  of  General  Van  Antwerp  as  Commissioner  of  Public  Works, 
during  the  two  years  of  his  term  of  office  : 

'■^  From  the  Keokuk  Bisjiatch  of  March  1,  1853. 

"  A  series  of  resolutions  were  adopted  by  the  late  Democratic  State 
Convention,  expressing  the  satisfaction  of  the  Democracy  of  the  state  with 
the  course  of  Gen.  V.  P.  Van  Antwerp,  present  Commissioner  of  the  Des 
Moines  River  Improvement,  and  tendering  a  complimentary  but  just 
tribute  to  his  zeal  and  capacity,  as  a  public  officer.  These  resolutions 
are  couched  in  higher  terms  than  are  usually  employed  by  our  state 
Conventions,  yet  they  are  richly  merited,  and  express  in  a  general 
manner,  a  eulogy  which  the  most  special  inquiries  will  fully  justify. 

"  No  one  can  peruse  the  history  of  the  Des  Moines  River  Improvement 
— the  alternate  rise  and  fcill  of  its  hopes  and  fortunes,  and  the  com- 
plexity and  variety  of  the  embarrassing  circumstances  connected  therewith 
— without  being  convinced  that  the  utmost  activity  and  industry  as  well 
as  discretion  and  talent  have  been  displayed  in  the  management  of  this 
important  state  work  ;  or  without  participating  in  the  gratitude  expressed 
by  the  resolutions  of  the  convention. 

"  To  secure  the  grant  of  900,000  acres,  by  the  reversal  of  a  cabinet 
decision,  required  the  most  skilful  movements,  as  well  as  personal  tact 
and  public  experience ;  to  create  and  prosecute  negotiations,  and  enlist 
the  cooperation  of  eastern  capitalists,  in  the  early  and  then  discouraging 
stage  of  the  work,  demanded  no  little  fertility  of  resource  and  vigor  of 
peisuasion.  The  ability  was  brought  to  the  task,  and  with  such  care  and 
discretion,  that,  in  spite  of  the  schemes  of  delinquent  or  dishonest  contractors 
to  secure  undue  privileges  in  advance,  and  their  retaliatory  measures  to 
harass  the  state,  after  their  fearless  exposure  hy  the  Commissioner,  the 
interests  of  the  work  have  not  been  impaired,  nor  the  funds  or  credit  of 
the  state  jeopardized,  to  the  value  of  a  dollar.  Reverses  and  disappoint- 
ments have  never  prevented  or  delayed  the  most  active  efforts  to  create 
and  prosecute  new  negotiations,  which  have  been  pursued  with  the  most 
unremitting  vigor  up  to  the  present  pending  contract  with  Messrs.  Pago 
&  Bacon. 

"  When  the  present  Commissioner  took  charge  of  the  '  Improvement,' 
all  was  uncertainty,  gloom,  and  embarrassment.      Disastrous  floods,  and 


VER    PLANCK    VAN    ANTWERP,    OF    IOWA.  357, 

the  more  disastrous  government  '  reversal '  had  apparently  dealt  a  mortal 
blow  to  the  hopes  of  the  noble  young  valley,  wiiich  now,  through  the 
untiring  energy  of  that  officer,  rejoices  in  a  substantial  '  progress,'  and 
in  almost  the  certainty  of  the  final  and  speedy  completion  of  the  public 
works.  The  resolutions  justly  say  that  'he  has  signalized  his  term  of 
office  by  measures  which  will  identify  his  name^  with  the  'consumma- 
tion so  devoutly  to  be  wished.' 

"  There  is  certainly  no  resident  of  the  state  better  fitted,  if  as  well,  by 
public  experience  and  acquaintance,  for  the  discharge  of  such  a  trust,  and 
assuredly  none  who  could  have  brought  to  the  task  more  untiring  perse- 
verance. Without  dwelling  upon  details,  we  confidently  assert  that  no 
one  who  has  carefully  read  even  the  oflicial  reports,  will  deem  our  expres- 
sions extravagant. 

"The  term  of  service  of  Gen.  Van  Antwerp,  from  the  nature  of  the 
labor  imposed,  has  been  comparatively,  if  not  wholly,  fruitless  of  personal 
profit ;  and  for  this  reason  his  refusal  to  be  a  candidate  for  reelection  was 
the  more  regretted  by  his  friends.  His  decision,  however,  was  made 
known  long  before  the  assembling  of  the  Convention,  and  his  name  was 
therefore  withheld  from  their  votes.  We  derive  especial  pleasure  in 
transcribing  the  resolution  of  that  body,  that  'in  his  voluntary  retirement 
from  the  office  which  he  has  so  ably  filled,  we  hereby  tender  to  him  the 
endorsement,  '  Well  done,  good  and  faithful  servant.'  " 

'•'•Resolutions  of  the  State  Convention,  above  referred  to. 

"  Resolved — That  the  present  Commissioner  of  the  Des  Moines  Improve- 
ment, Gen.  V.  P.  Van  Antwerp,  by  the  fidelity,  energy,  and  ability  with 
which  he  has  discharged  the  duties  of  his  responsible  position,  is  entitled 
to  the  highest  esteem  and  gratitude  of  the  people  of  this  state. 

^'' Renolved — That  to  his  faithful  and  judicious  eftbrts  we  are  indebted 
for  the  final  grant  by  the  General  Government  of  the  fund  for  the  Des 
Moines  River  Improvement;  sufficient  and  ample  to  insure' the  comple- 
tion of  the  work,  and  develope  the  resources  of  the  Des  Moines  Valley. 

"  Resolved — That  in  prosecuting  the  negotiations  for  the  state,  he  has 
displayed  unsurpassed  perseverance,  industry,  and  discretion,  against  the 
most  trying  discouragements  and  embarrassments,  and  that  he  has  not 
only  faithfully  improved  every  opportunity  to  advance  the  interests  of 
his  trust,  but  has  signalized  his  term  of  service,  by  measures  which  will 
ideiitify  his  name  with  the  successful  completion  of  the  public  works. 

"  Resolved — Therefore,  that,  in  his  voluntary  retirement  from  the 
office  which  he  has  so  ably  filled,  we  hereby  tender  to  him,  in  convention 
of  the  democracy  of  the  state,  the  endorsement,  'Well  done,  good  and 
faithful  servant.' " 

In  the  Presidential  contest  of  last  year  (1852),  Gen,  Van  Antwerp 
again  came  promptly  and  earnestly  to  the  support  of  the  Democratic 
nominees,  Messrs.  Pierce  and  King.  He  presided  at  the  first  meeting  held 
in  the  state  (at  Keokuk),  to  ratify  the  nominations,  and  subsequently  at  a 
large  Mass  Me-eting,  at  Bentonsport,  composed  of  citizens  of  a  number  of 
counties,  whom  he  addressed  upon  the  occasion,  urging  them  to  energetic 
action.  Gen.  V.  A.  has  been  unfortunate  with  his  children,  having  lost 
five  out  of  eight  that  have  been  born  to  him.  His  eldest  daughter  sur- 
vives, and  is  married  to  the  Hon.  George  H.  Williams,  recently  appointed 


358  SKETCHES    OF    EMINENT    AMEUICANS. 

by  President  Pierce,  Chief  Justice  of  Oregon  Territory — a  liigh,  but  well 
merited  compliment.  Judge  Williams  came  to  Iowa  in  1844,  when  but 
just  of  age,  and  has  since  occupied,  for  the  full  term  of  live  years,  the 
post  of  Judge  of  the  First  Judicial  District  of  the  state  ;  from  which  he 
had  but  recently  retired,  voluntarily,  when  his  political  friends  nominated 
and  elected  him  a  Presidential  Elector,  before  he  liad  reached  his 
thirtieth  year.  The  two  other  surviving  children  (a  girl  and  a  bov)  of 
Gen.  V.  A.  are  still  quite  young,  aged  ten  and  six  years  respectively.  The 
writer  of  this  article  has  the  privilege  of  an  intimate  acquaintance  with 
Gen.  Van  Antwerp,  and  has  visited  him  at  his  own  home,  in  the  thriving 
city  of  Keokuk,  the  most  southerly  point  of  the  state  of  Iowa,  on  the 
Mississippi  river.  Without  transgressing  the  limits  of  a  strict  and 
simple  biography,  he  may  be  permitted  to  say,  that  such  an  acquaint- 
ance has  left  upon  his  mind  an  ineffaceable  trace  of  the  noble  and 
manly  qualities  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch.  Probably  no  one  of 
Western  men  commands  a  deeper  and  more  universal  respect — not 
by  the  affected  display  of  his  intellectual  endowments,  but  rather  by 
a  character,  long  and  well  tried,  of  the  strictest  probity  and  honor, 
of  warm  philanthropy,  and  devoted  and  unflinching  adherence  to  right 
principles.  For  many  years  a  warden  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal 
Church,  and  of  the  most  exemplary  habits,  nothing  has  ever  been  said 
against  the  purity  of  his  private  life ;  and  these  estimable  traits  are 
illustrated  by  a  uniform  dignity  and  gentlemanly  bearing,  and  enlivened 
by  a  sympathy  of  address  and  vivacity  of  conversation,  which  are  a 
charm  to  all  who  know  him.  In  person  Gen.  Van  Antwerp  is  five  feet 
ten  inches  in  height,  of  slender  form,  erect  and  military  carriage,  and  of 
an  expressive  and  intellectual  cast  of  features,  as  represented  in  the 
accompanying  engraving.  Upon  his  general  appearance,  as  well  as  upon 
the  lineaments  of  his  countenance,  is  stamped  the  unmistakable  impress 
of  the  honest  man,  the  real  Republican,  and  the  true  gentleman.  High- 
toned  and  liberal  in  all  his  views,  quick  in  his  perceptions,  and  firm  in 
his  decisions,  he  betrays  also,  in  every  act,  a  courtesy  which  is  not  the 
child  of  etiquette,  but  a  natural  trait  and  family  hereditament,  and  the 
index  of  a  thorough  and  practical  knowledge  of  the  world,  and  of  human 
nature. 

Gen.  V.  A.'s  house,  at  Keokuk,  unpretending,  yet  most  inviting,  in  all 
the  luxuries  of  real  comfort,  is  the  resort  of  many  of  the  best  families  of 
neighboring  towns  and  cities,  embracing  St.  Louis,  and  of  a  wide  circle 
of  friends,  as  well  as  of  the  distinguished  strangers  who  visit  the  city — 
the  hospitality  of  the  host,  and  of  his  estimable  lady,  being  "  known  and 
read  of  all  men." 

The  General,  yet  only  in  the  prime  of  life,  is,  as  ever,  among  the  fore- 
most in  all  works  of  public  utility  and  enterprise.  It  is  not  at  all 
probable  that  the  point  at  which  we  leave  him  will  be  the  close  of  his 
public  career.  If  Iowa  shall  consult  her  true  interests,  we  shall  soon 
hear  of  him,  doubtless,  in  some  new  and  responsible  capacity  of  public 
service. 


4'^*-^#^' — .^     _ 


t^:^'-<^^''^^'^^''<-^c-<-^^('^.^^''. 


■WILLIAM    H.    WASHINGTON,    OF    CRAVEN    COUNTY,    N.    C.  359 

HON.    WM.    H.    WASHINGTON, 

OF  CRAVEN  COUNTY,  NORTH  CAROLINA, 

Hon.  Wm.  H.Washington,  eldest  child  of  General  Nicholson  Wash- 
ington and  Elizabeth  Washington,  was  born  in  the  County  of  Wayne,  and 
State  of  North  Carolina,  on  the  7th  day  of  February,  A.  D.  1813.  While 
yet  a  child  he  manifested  that  vivacity  of  disposition,  aptness  of  mind, 
and  energy  of  character  which  have  since  distinguished  him ;  and  his 
father,  a  respectable  planter  and  successful  country  merchant,  determined, 
therefore,  at  an  early  period  to  give  him  a  liberal  education.  He  was  ac- 
cordingly entered  at  Spring  Bank  Academy,  an  institution  of  very  high 
repute  at  that  time,  in  the  County  of  Wayne.  At  the  early  age  of  thir- 
teen he  was  fully  prepared  to  enter  college ;  but  his  father  deeming  it 
imprudent  to  place  him  at  a  distance  from  the  paternal  roof  at  so  early 
an  age,  took  him  home  and  taught  him  the  science  and  practice  of  farm- 
ing, inuring  him  to  labor  with  his  own  hands.  During  this  inteiTal  also 
he  was  accustomed  frequently  to  stand  behind  the  counter  of  a  country 
store.  Here  he  learned  thoroughly  the  art  of  book-keeping — and  to  this 
training  may  be  attributed  his  rare  knowledge  of  human  nature,  and  his 
ready  business  talents.  When  in  his  seventeenth  year  he  was  sent  to  the 
Military  School  of  Captain  Partridge,  at  Fayetteville,  N.  C,  which  was  at 
the  time  under  the  immediate  control  of  Captain  T.  B.  Ransom,  who  has 
since  distinguished  and  sacrificed  himself  in  Mexico.  He  was  transferred 
thence  in  the  year  1831  to  Yale  College,  where  he  joined  the  sophomore 
class,  and  graduated  in  the  year  1834,  with  a  very  large  number,  bearing 
ofl"  with  ease  the  highest  honors  of  the  institution.  In  October  of  that 
year  he  entered  upon  the  study  of  the  law  in  the  town  of  New  Berne,  un- 
der the  tuition  of  the  late  lamented  Judge  Gaston.  Having  devoted  some 
attention  to  the  law  during  his  senior  year  at  college,  and  having  prose- 
cuted its  study  under  Judge  Gaston  with  a  zeal,  aptitude,  and  docility 
rarely  equalled,  he  obtained  a  license  to  practise  in  the  courts  of  Pleas 
and  Quarter-Sessions  on  the  first  day  of  August,  A.  D.  1835.  Twelve 
days  afterwards  he  married  Miss  Caroline  Heritage  Blount,  only  daughter 
of  the  late  Dr.  Frederick  Blount,  of  New  Berne,  N.  C.  He  attended  his 
&st  court  in  his  native  county  in  November,  1835.  The  office  of  SoHci- 
tor  for  that  county  had  just  become  vacant  by  the  death  of  James  Farrier, 
Esq.,  who  had  long  enjoyed  the  same.  Mr.  Washington  was  put  in  nomi- 
nation to  fill  the  vacancy,  and  was  elected  over  several  competitors  by  a 
triumphant  majority.  The  office  was  at  the  time  a  responsible  one  ;  for 
the  State  docket  was  large,  and  the  finances  of  the  county  were  in  a  criti- 
cal condition  ;  but  so  satisfactorily  did  he  acquit  himself  that  he  was 
soon  thereafter  elected  to  the  same  office  in  the  counties  of  Greene,  Le- 
noir, and  Jones. 

In  the  fall  of  1837,  Edward  Stanly,  Esq.,  Solicitor  for  the  Second  Judi- 
cial Circuit,  having  loeen  elected  to  Congress,  Mr.  Washington  was  ap- 
pointed by  the  Hon.  John  M.  Dick  to  fill  the  unexpired  term.  The  bar  in 
that  district  was  at  the  time  one  of  the  oldest  in  the  State,  and  Mr.  Wash- 
ington's best  friends  trembled  for  him  in  his  difficult  and  perilous  under- 


360  SKETCHES    OF   EMINENT    AMERICANS. 

talcing.  Ha\'ing  been  at  the  bar  but  two  years,  he  was  of  course  as  young 
in  experience  as  lie  was  in  age.  But  these  fears  were  groundless.  He 
astonished  every  one  by  the  manner  in  which  he  vindicated  the  honor  and 
protected  the  interests  of  the  State. 

In  the  winter  of  1838  and  '39  he  was  a  candidate  before  the  Legisla- 
ture for  the  same  office,  and  was  elected  over  several  competitors  by  a 
large  majority. 

Upon  the  very  threshold  of  his  career  Mr.  Washington  passed  into  an 
extensive  and  lucrative  practice ;  a  circumstance  which  to  almost  any 
other  man  would  have  proven  a  serious,  if  not  a  fatal  misfortune.  Ninety- 
nine  out  of  a  hundred,  if  not  all  of  the  youthful  membci-s  of  the  profession, 
though  conversant  it  may  be  with  the  learning  of  Coke,  Blackstone,  and 
Chitty,  are  yet  painfully  conscious  of  an  utter  want  of  familiarity  with  the 
varied  forms  of  legal  proceedings,  and  are  apt  to  look  upon  their  fii-st  cli- 
ents as  enemies,  who  come  to  uncover  their  ignorance  and  expose  them  to 
ridicule.  Relying  with  confidence  upon  their  own  knowledge  in  nothing, 
and  compelled  upon  the  spur  of  the  moment  to  seek  practical  information 
from  this  or  that  source,  as  best  they  can,  they  walk  tremblingly  along, 
like  one  who  is  treading  upon  a  magazine  of  powder  which  may  suddenly 
explode  in  consequence  of  the  friction  created  by  his  own  footfall.  Let 
them,  therefore,  come  suddenly  into  an  extensive  practice,  and  they  are  in 
a  worse  than  Cretan  labyrinth,  in  which  they  grope  about  in  darkness, 
struggling  in  vain  to  seize  the  Ariadne  clue  which  is  to  conduct  them 
forth  ;  or  perhaps  rather  they  may  be  said,  Tarpeia-like,  to  be  crushed  and 
destroyed  by  the  oppressive  weight  of  the  glittering  objects  which  they 
had  eagerly  sought  to  win.  The  young  lawyer  thus  circumstanced  would 
be  but  too  apt  to  commit  error  after  error ;  dissatisfaction  and  confusion 
■would  inevitably  ensue ;  his  clients  would  soon  quit  him  in  disgust,  and 
he  heartily  thanking  them  therefore,  would  turn  his  attention  to  some 
more  pleasant  occupation.  This,  however,  was  very  far  from  being  the 
case  with  Mr.  AVashinglon  ;  and  we  regard  it  as  the  very  highest  evidence 
of  his  ability^  that  every  successive  conflict  brought  him  renewed  honor; 
that  every  increasing  demand  upon  him  developed  other  and  higher  re- 
sources, until,  as  a  necessary  consequence,  he  soon  enjoyed  a  practice  and 
a  reputation  seldom  equalled  in  the  annals  of  North  Carolina. 

In  the  year  1840,  as  assistant  elector  for  his  district,  Mr.  W.  took  an 
active  part  in  the  political  canvass  for  Harrison  and  Tyler.  In  1844  he 
acted  as  elector  upon  the  Clay  ticket;  and  in  1848  upon  that  of  Taylor 
and  Fillmore  ;  having  in  both  instances  received  the  appointment  unani- 
mously. In  this  field  his  success  was  no  less  distinguished  than  it  had 
been  in  the  line  of  his  profession.  Possessing  a  large  fund  of  political 
knowledge,  and  blending  happily  the  power  of  convincing  the  judgment 
by  his  arguments,  with  that  of  arousing  the  feelings  by  the  appeals  of  his 
eloquence,  he  unites  to  all,  the  faculty  of  putting  his  hearers  in  a  good 
humor  with  him,  themselves,  and  the  rest  of  the  world,  by  means  of  an 
hiexhaustible  fund  of  humor  and  anecdote.  He  has,  therefore,  always 
been  a  great  favorite  with  the  people  of  both  political  parties. 

In  the  year  1841,  after  an  extra  session  of  Congress  had  been  deter- 
mined on,  Mr.  W.  was  re-elected  by  the  whigs  as  their  candidate.  The 
democratic  majority  in  the  district  was  at  the  time  from  seven  to  eight 
hundred.     Scarcely  any  one  supposed  it  possible  that  a  whig  could  be 


•WILLIAM    H.    WASHINGTON,    OF    CRAVEN    COUNTY,    N.    C.  361 

elected ;  but  it  was  thought  that  Mr.  W.  could  reduce  the  majority,  and 
that  this  might  be  available  for  subsequent  purposes.  His  competitor,  Dr. 
Watson,  was  a  man  of  large  property,  a  veteran  in  the  ranks  of  the  adver- 
sary, and  had  been  a  democratic  candidate  for  elector  for  the  twelve  pre- 
ceding years.  The  district  was  thoroughly  canvassed,  and  Mr.  W.  was 
elected  by  a  handsome  majority.  He  was  by  several  years  the  youngest 
man  in  the  27th  Congress,  yet  was  he  by  no  means  an  obscure  and  inef- 
ficient member.  He  was  appointed  on  some  of  the  most  important  com- 
mittees, and  proved  himself  industrious,  attentive,  and  useful.  His  first 
speech  in  the  House  of  Representatives  was  an  oft-hand  reply  to  Gen.  R. 
M,  Saunders  on  public  sentiment  in  North  Carolina  on  the  Bank  question, 
which.  Gen.  S.  admitted  himself,  was  able  and  ingenious,  and  which  at- 
tracted the  attention  of  such  men  as  Clay,  Sergeant,  Adams,  and  Berrien, 
all  of  whom  spoke  favorably  of  the  effort.  He  made  a  speech  also  on  the 
Tanft"  question,  which  attracted  public  attention  at  the  time  for  its  statis- 
tical information  and  liberal  sentiments.  But  decidedly  his  most  happy 
effort  was  an  entirely  unexpected  and  imj^roniptii  speech  in  defence  of  a 
claim  due  the  heirs-at-law  of  Baron  De  Kalb.  As  a  member  of  the  Com- 
mittee on  Revolutionary  Claims  this  case  had  been  referred  to  him.  He 
entered  upon  its  investigation  with  zeal  and  enthusiasm,  and  made  a  re- 
port which  received  the  sanction  of  the  Committee,  which  has  been  fre- 
quently quoted  wth  approbation  and  applause  in  Europe,  and  which  has 
never  been  successfully  answered  in  this  country.  In  the  arrangement  of 
the  Private  Calendar  tiiis  claim  came  up  on  a  day  when,  under  the  rules 
of  the  House,  no  discussion  was  allowed,  and  when  the  objection  of  a  sin- 
gle member  postponed  its  consideration  for  a  month.  Hon.  Cave  John- 
son, o;  Tennessee,  objected,  and  said  he  wished  to  hear  the  report  read. 
Mr.  W.  arose  and  said  that  the  Report  was  elaborate  and  long,  but  if  the 
gentleman  from  Tennessee  and  the  House  would  indulge,  he  would  briefly 
explain  the  grounds  on  which  the  Committee  had  allowed  the  claim. 
Mr.  W.  was  allowed  to  proceed,  and  so  forcible,  eloquent,  and  convincing 
were  his  remarks,  that  they  at  once  obtained  from  the  House  a  unanimous 
vote  for  the  bill.  And  when  it  came  up  subsequently  for  discussion  in 
the  &^nate.  Judge  Berrien  arose  in  his  place  and  read  Mr.  W.'s  speech, 
and  the  Hon.  W.  R.  King  said  that  he  should  vote  for  the  bill  on  the 
ground  that  it  was  fully  sustained  thereby. 

On  the  4th  of  March,  1843,  at  the  close  of  the  third  session  of  the  27th 
Congress,  Mr.  W.  declined  a  re-election  and  returned  to  the  practice  of 
his  profession,  with  his  characteristic  zeal,  ability,  and  success ;  and  from 
that  time  to  the  present,  he  has,  throughout  his  widely  extended  circuit, 
been  employed  upon  one  side  or  the  other  of  almost  every  cause  calling 
for  the  exercise  of  any  unusual  degree  of  talent  and  skill. 

In  1844,  he  was  elected  to  the  House  of  Commons  in  the  State  Legisla- 
ture, froin  the  county  of  Craven,  under  very  flattering  circumstances  ;  and 
again  in  1846,  by  a  largely  increased  majority. 

In  1848,  he  was  put  in  nomination  for  the  Senate,  from  the  same 
county.  The  democrats  had  elected  the  Senator  previously  to  this  time, 
for  more  than  twenty  years  in  succession,  with  only  one  exception,  the 
whigs  having,  in  1838,  succeeded  under  very  peculiar  circumstances. 
When  it  was  announced  that  Mr.  W.  would  be  the  candidate  of  the  whigs, 
most  extraordinarv  preparations  were  made  for  his  defeat.      For  instance, 


362  SKETCHES    OF    EMINENT    AMERICANS. 

fifty-one  persons  were  made  freeholders  in  one  day,  in  order  to  entitle 
them  to  vote  for  senator,  under  the  State  Constitution,  by  grants  of  land, 
from  a  large  landholder,  and  the  old  senator  was  ruled  off  to  make 
room  for  a  man  who  had  never  been  beaten,  and  who  had  always  led  any 
ticket  on  which  he  had  run.  After  tlie  candidates  were  fairly  in  the  field, 
the  deeds  were  brought  forward  and  registered.  Consternation  seized  the 
whig  ranks  !  They  looked  on  defeat  as  certain  ;  almost  any  other  men  would 
have  been  appalled  at  the  prospect ;  scarcely  any  other  man  could  have 
rallied  his  friends  under  such  discouraging  circumstances.  But  Mr.  W. 
was  calm,  cheerful,  and  active,  and  by  most  admirable  tact  and  manage- 
ment, he  caused  his  friends  to  rally  to  his  support,  and  was  elected  by 
an  overwhelming  majority,  in  by  far  the  warmest  contest  ever  had  in 
the  county. 

A  distinguished  gentleman  from  Craven  was  spending  the  summer  in 
the  western  part  oF  the  state;  great  interest  was  felt  in  the  general  result 
of  the  preceding  election,  and  not  a  little  about  Cravens  one  of  the  debat- 
able and  doubtful  counties.  He  was  asked  respecting  the  prospect  in 
that  county,  and  was  told  that  it  was  considered  hopeless  ;  that  as  Mr.  W. 
was  not  a  candidate  in  the  Commons,  it  was  thought  both  Commoners 
would  be  lost,  and  that  there  was  no  chance  for  Mr.  W.  in  the  Senate. 
He  replied,  "  Gentlemen,  I  think  we  shall  gain  in  that  county ;  the  candi- 
dates for  the  Commons  are  both  popular  men,  there  is  a  first-rate  chance 
for  them  both  ;  as  for  the  Senator,  put  him  down  whig."  "  Why,"  said 
they,  "  is  not  Mr.  W.'s  opponent  a  very  popular  man  ?"  "  Yes,  decidedly 
the  most  popular  democrat  in  the  county."  "  Is  it  not  a  fact  that  fifty- 
one  new  Senate  voters  have  been  made  on  the  democratic  side  V  "  Yes," 
said  he,  "  I  believe  that  is  so."  "  How  then  is  it  possible  that  Mr.  W.  can 
be  elected  ? "  "  Well,"  said  he,  "  I  do  not  know  that  I  can  tell  you  exactly 
how  it  is  to  be  done,  but  I  can  assure  you  that  it  will  be  done^ 

A  Mr.  Berne,  correspondent  of  the  Raleigh  Register^  speaking  of  this 
election  says : — 

"  Never  was  a  county  more  thoroughly  canvassed  than  has  been  Ci-a- 
ven — never  were  parties  more  equally  divided,  and  never  were  the  people 
more  powerfully  aroused.  You  will  be  astonished  at  the  result,  but  the 
success  of  our  Senator  is  no  test  of  the  strength  of  parties.  The  univer- 
sal popularity  of  Mr.  Washington  gathered  around  him  numerous  friends, 
without  distinction  of  party.  The  whigs,  hoAvever,  have  great  reastm  to 
be  proud  of  this  gentleman's  strength.  He  went  into  the  Senatorial  can- 
vass with  a  known  majority  against  him^  and  with  the  fact  staring  him  in 
the  face,  that  we  had  never  had  the  Senator  but  once  in  twenty  years." 

Mr.  W.  was  subsequently  returned  to  the  Senate,  from  the  same  county, 
in  the  years  1850  and  '52.  His  course  in  the  Legislature  has  been  always 
conservative,  and  liberal  towards  every  section  of  the  state.  He  has  been 
industrious,  attentive,  and  useful,  and  whenever  the  occasion  required,  has 
shown  himself  a  prompt,  ready,  skilful,  and  efficient  debater. 

In  1849,  and  again  in  1851,  he  was  unanimously  nominated  by  his 
party  as  a  candidate  to  represent  this  district  (decidedly  whig)  in  Con- 
gress ;  but  from  a  sense  of  justice  to  his  numerous  clients,  and  a  due  con- 
sideration for  the  wishes  of  his  immediate  family,  he  declined  the  honor. 

The  weight  of  professional  and  political  cares  and  duties  with  which 
Mr.  W.  has  been  so  constantly  pressed  since  his  fii-st  entrance  upon  life, 


WILLIAM    II.    WASHINGTON,    OF    CRAVEN    COUNTY,    N.    C.  363 

seeins  to  have  sat  lightly  upon  him,  seems  scarcely  in  fact  to  liave  left  a 
trace  behind.  The  vivacity  of  his  youth  is  preserved  unimpaired  ;  he  yet 
retains  the  keenest  relish  for  mirth,  fun,  and  frolic,  and  no  man  enjoys 
more  than  he,  the  society  of  friends,  or  the  comforts  of  home.  Cheerful 
and  buoyant  in  disposition,  kind  and  generous  in  heart,  with  a  tear 
for  the  sorrowful,  and  a  smile  for  the  gay,  enjoying  a  widespread  personal 
popularity,  possessing  an  extensive  knowledge  of  human  nature,  a  ready 
perception  of  the  complicated  workings  of  the  human  soul,  and  a  quick 
ami  at  the  same  time  thorough  and  comprehensive  grasp  of  intellect; 
being  yet  in  the  prime  of  manhood,  and  the  undiminished  vigor  of  his 
faculties,  he  bids  fair  for  a  long  time  to  come,  to  exercise  an  extended 
influence  upon  the  councils,  and  to  enjoy  a  large  share  in  the  offices 
of  trust  and  honor,  within  the  bestowal  of  his  native  State. 


SAMUEL    A.    HAYT,    OF    FISHKILL,    NEW    YORK.  36 i 


SAMUEL    A.    HAYT,    ESQ., 

OF    FISHKILL,    N.    Y. 

Biography  is  that  branch  of  history  that  relates  exclusively  to  man ;  and 
embraces,  within  its  limits,  all  that  appertains  to  his  moral,  intellectual, 
social,  or  professional  character :  in  other  "words,  the  discharge  of  his 
relative  duties  to  this  world,  and  his  higher  obligations  to  the  world  to 
come.  Thus  considered,  while  it  is  true  that  "  History  is  philosophy 
teaching  by  example,"  the  sentiment  is  more  especially  applicable  to 
biography,  which  is  one  of  the  chief  elements  of  history.  The  life  and 
progress  of  man,  his  virtues  and  his  vices,  his  accomplishments  and  de- 
fects, his  successes  and  misfortunes,  his  triumphs  and  defeats,  his  motives 
and  his  actions,  not  only  affect  his  own  absolute  position,  but  exercise  a 
powerful  influence  upon  the  character  and  destiny  of  those  by  whom  he 
may  be  surrounded  or  succeeded  upon  the  busy  stage  of  life.  Hence  it 
is,  that  the  age  or  era  in  the  world's  annals  that  exhibits  one  truly  great 
man,  invariably  exhibits  many — all  shining  at  the  same  time  in  direct 
radiance  and  collateral  light.  Look  to  Greece  in  her  orators,  her  patriots, 
and  her  statesmen — Rome  in  her  heroes,  her  poets,  and  her  historians — 
England  during  the  reign  of  Elizabeth — France  under  the  government 
of  Napoleon.     Example  and  competition  form  the  character  of  nations — 

"  When  went  there  by  an  age  since  the  great  flood, 
But  it  was  famed  with  more  than  with  one  man  ?i' 

To  commemorate  the  virtues,  wisdom,  and  patriotism  of  their  promi- 
nent men,  their  statesmen,  their  philosophers  and  their  poets,  has  ever 
been  the  noblest  office  of  the  noblest  nations.  The  voice  of  eulogy,  the 
page  of  history,  monuments,  mausoleums,  trophies,  and  triumphs,  were 
the  proud  testimonials  to  the  splendor  of  their  achievements,  and  the 
gratitude  of  their  countrymen.  Emulation  blazed  high  in  every  bosom — 
worth  became  sympathetic  and  hereditary — infancy  caught  the  sacred 
flame  of  patriotism  from  the  honored  and  hallowed  ashes  of  its  ancestry, 
and  in  beholding  the  bright  escutcheons  of  war  and  victory,  the  tottering 
and  enfeebled  limbs  of  hoary  age  itself  glowed  and  strengthened  into  the 
ardor  and  energy  of  second  youth.  Thus,  all  the  diversified  departments 
of  their  admirable  systems  of  governments,  civil  as  well  as  military,  con- 
tributed to  inspirit,  to  support,  and  dignify  each  other ;  and  while  moving 
in  their  own  respective  orbits,  like  the  inexhaustible  luminaries  of  Heaven, 
liey  reciprocally  borrowed  and  reflected  light,  and  shed  their  combined 
lustre  and  glory  upon  an  astonished  world. 

The  influence  of  great  example  and  the  effects  of  rivalry  are  not  con- 
fined to  the  nation  or  the  time  of  their  actual  existence.  They  difiiise 
themselves  over  the  world,  and  operate  upon  unborn  millions.  Strike 
out  from  history  its  earlier  annals,  and  what  becomes  of  its  succeeding 
ages  ?  It  would  be  like  striking  out  the  acquirements  and  experience 
of  youth,  in  its  destructive  consequences  upon  the  hopes  and  happiness 
of  mature  age.  It  would  be  to  expect  the  harvest  without  the  seed-time, 
or  the  ripening  summer. 


366  SKETCHES    OF    EMINENT    AMERICANS. 

But  it  is  not  only  witli  reference  to  the  virtues  and  wisdom  of  men, 
that  biography  is  important.  Even  the  records  of  human  vices  and 
follies  have  also  their  salutary  uses.  They  serve  to  guard  us  against 
those  evils  into  which  others  may  have  fallen,  and  to  secure  to  us  those 
\emporal  and  eternal  blessings  which  are  too  often  wantonly  disregarded, 
and  perhaps  irretrievably  lost. 

With  these  general  views  of  the  advantages  of  biography,  we  certainly 
require  no  apology  for  presenting  to  the  notice  of  our  fellow-citizens 
even  imperfect  sketches  of  distinguished  public  or  professional  men, 
who,  by  their  eminence  in  some  of  the  departments  of  life,  have  contri- 
buted at  least  to  place  their  signet  upon  the  times,  and  to  illustrate  the 
character  of  the  country. 

In  order  to  understand  and  appreciate  the  character  of  an  individual, 
or  to  illustrate  any  particular  principle  in  the  "  philosophy  of  history,"  by 
reference  to  the  events  of  a  single  life,  it  becomes  necessary  to  observe 
minutely  the  circumstances  under  which  that  character  has  been  formed, 
as  well  as  to  consider  all  those  influences  which  are  usually  regarded  as 
controlling  and  decisive,  in  developing  his  faculties  and  determining  his 
conduct.  The  mere  eulogist  may  content  himself  with  giving  the  con- 
clusions of  his  own  judgment  and  stating  general  propositions,  which  are 
usually  only  the  results  of  his  own  reflections,  more  or  less  colored  and 
overwrought  by  the  influence  of  his  feelings  of  friendship  and  partiality. 
On  the  other  hand,  the  historian  or  the  biographer  should  aim  to  furnish 
in  the  facts  he  presents,  materials  for  the  exercise  of  the  judgment  of 
others,  and  by  giving  them  the  basis  of  his  conclusions,  enable  them  to 
determine  the  correctness  of  his  reasoning,  and  the  value  of  the  lessons 
he  desires  to  impart. 

Acting  upon  these  suggestions,  we  trust  no  other  apology  may  be 
deemed  necessary  for  the  manner  in  which  we  have  chosen  to  present 
the  subject  of  this  memoir.  In  no  other  way  thau  by  giving  a  faithful 
sketch  of  his  early  life,  and  his  struggles  with  the  world  and  the  changing 
tides  of  fortune,  can  complete  justice  be  done  to  his  character,  and  the 
value  of  the  lesson  furnished  by  his  example  would  be  materially  im- 
paired, were  it  unknown  amid  what  contending  elements  that  character 
was  developed  and  his  standing  achieved. 

With  this  introduction,  we  introduce  to  our  readers  a  sketch  of  Samuel 
A.  Hayt,  a  prominent  citizen  of  the  County  of  Dutchess,  and  president  of 
the  Bank  of  Fishkill. 

Simeon  Hayt  (the  name  was  originally  spelt  JIaite),  from  whom  the 
subject  of  this  memoir  traces  his  descent,  emigrated  from  England  in  1629, 
settling  with  his  family  in  Charlestown,  Massachusetts.  He  had  three 
sons,  Nicholas,  Walter,  and  Benjamin,  lie  was  admitted  freeman  at 
Boston,  on  the  18th  of  May,  1631,  which  is  the  earliest  record  of  any 
man  so  constituted  on  this  side  of  the  Atlantic.  In  1633  he  removed 
his  family  to  Scituate,  from  thence  in  1636  to  Dorchester,  and  in  1639 
from  Dorchester  to  Windsor  in  Connecticut,  where  he  had  160  acres  of 
land  granted  to  him  in  1640. 

In  1650,  Walter  removed  from  Windsor  to  Norwalk,  in  the  same 
state,  and  was  one  of  the  first  settlers  of  that  now  thriving  town.  The 
records  of  the  town  state  that  Mr.  Hayt  had  lands  granted  him  from  the 
town  of  Norwalk,  in  1652.     In  1653,  he  was  one  of  a  building  commit- 


SAMUEL    A.    HAYT,    OF    FISIIKILL,    NEW    YORK.  367 

tee,  appointed  by  the  town,  to  erect  a  dwelling  liouse  for  the  Rev.  Mr. 
Ilanford,  the  first  Congregational  minister  in  that  town.  Subsequently, 
we  find  him  on  various  committees  appointed  on  important  business,  both 
for  tlie  church  and  town.  lie  was  chosen  a  member  of  the  Legislature 
in  1667.  In  1688,  we  find  him  one  of  the  grantees  in  behalf  of  the  town, 
through  whom  the  state  gave  their  first  charter  or  patent.  Walter  Ilayt 
died  in  1699,  leaving  two  sons,  John  and  Zerubbabel ;  Zerubbabel,  his 
youngest  son,  and  direct  in  the  line  of  descent  with  Samuel  Hayt,  the 
subject  of  this  notice,  is  mentioned  as  having  been  appointed  on  various 
important  duties,  pertaining  to  the  civil  and  religious  interest  of  his  fellow 
citizens.  He  was  deacon  in  the  Congregational  church  in  his  native  town,  for 
many  years.  He  died  in  1738,  having  had  three  sons,  Daniel,  Caleb,  and 
Joseph.  His  youngest  son,  Joseph,  through  whom  the  lineage  continues, 
died  in  1730,  having  had  four  sous,  Zerubbabel,  James,  Moses,  and  Joseph. 
Z(;rubbabel,  eldest  son  of  Joseph,  left  Norwalk  about  1749,  and  settled  in 
Bedford,  Westchester  County,  New  York.  (He  died  in  1794,  having  had 
four  sons,  Stephen,  Moses,  Justus,  and  Zephaniah.)  His  son  Stephen, 
father  of  Samuel,  was  for  some  time  in  the  French  war  (as  it  is  termed) 
in  behalf  of  England.  He  married  Martha  Eels,  a  daughter  of  the  Rev. 
Mr.  Eels  of  New  Canaan,  Connecticut.  He  died  in  1770,  aged  40.  Mrs. 
Hayt  survived  her  husband  many  years. 

Samuel  Hayt,  the  father  of  the  subject  of  this  memoir,  was  the  third 
son  of  Stephen  Hayt  of  Bedford,  Westchester  County,  New  York,  and 
born  September  18th,  1765.  The  place  of  his  birth,  a  rural  district,  beau- 
tifully diversified  with  hill  and  dale,  Avoodland  and  meadows,  was  well  cal- 
culated to  fix  in  his  mind  a  decided  taste,  for  retirement  which  he  ever 
fondly  cherished.  His  birth,  amid  the  stirring  scenes  which  preceded 
the  revolutionary  struggle,  was  well  suited  to  awaken  even  in  his  child- 
hood those  stern  resolves  and  inflexible  purposes  by  which  his  whole 
subsequent  life  was  marked.  He  had  two  brothers  older,  Stephen  and 
John,  and  one  younger  than  himself,  Zephaniah,  and  two  sisters,  one  of 
whom  was  his  senior,  and  the  other  an  infant,  when  Providence  removed  the 
father,  leaving  the  undivided  care  and  responsibility  to  the  mother.  Facts 
show  abundantly  that  the  whole  line  of  this  family  is  marked  by  that 
trust  in  God,  which  alone  is  adequate  to  sustain  men  in  severe  trials,  and 
this  family,  bereft  of  a  father's  presence,  had  the  benefit  both  of  his  pray- 
ers and  example.  Samuel,  at  the  death  of  his  father,  was  only  four  years  old, 
and  as  the  opening  scenes  which  marked  that  eventful  period  were  every 
year  developing,  he  was  just  old  enough  at  the  declaration  of  our  independ- 
ence to  have  all  his  boyish  sports  and  expectations  tinctured  with  the 
hardihood  of  that  severe  and  protracted  struggle. 

His  mother  was  left  in  limited  circumstances,  so  that  her  children  went 
early  from  her  to  meet  the  toils  and  dangei-s  of  that  perilous  season, 
Stephen,  his  eldest  brother,  though  a  lad,  early  entered  the  army,  and  con- 
tinued during  the  war  to  share  its  vicissitudes.  His  brother  John  was 
taken  prisoner  by  the  British  when  about  seventeen  years  of  age,  while 
they  had  possession  of  New  York  city  and  vicinity,  but  providentially 
made  his  escape  to  his  friends,  with  very  scanty  clothing,  and  no  hat  to 
cover  his  head.  The  place  of  his  residence  being  between  the  opposing 
armies,  or  on  the  lineSy  as  it  was  called,  the  youth  of  our  notice  became 
early  familiar  with  danger  and  alarm.     He  saw  the  enemy  enter  his  own 


368  SKETCHES    OF    EMINENT    AMERICANS. 

village,  and  burn  the  very  sanctuary  where  ho  had  been  trained  to  worship 
his  God.  Young  as  he  was,  he  entered  the  ranks,  and  served  his  country 
for  six  months  as  a  soldier.  Witnessing  such  scenes,  and  enduring  such 
service,  his  mind  early  di'ank  in  the  spirit  of  that  remarkable  age,  which 
influenced  his  whole  subsequent  life. 

His  mother,  though  not  able  to  watch  over  her  sons,  thus  thrown  from 
her  by  the  providence  of  God,  seems  to  have  early  riveted  in  their  minds 
the  principles  of  the  Gospel.  Little  do  mothers  think,  as  they  converse 
with  their  children,  reply  to  their  interesting  inquiries,  or  listen  to 
their  eno-aging  prattle,  how  deeply  sink  the  lessons  of  instruction  then 
afforded.  Little  do  they  feel,  that  as  they  bend  their  minds  to  lofty  pur- 
pose and  firm  resolve  in  \he  presence  of  their  families,  they  are  bending 
other  minds  than  their  own,  and  instrumentally  determining  events  which 
shall  be  marked  long  after  they  sleep  in  their  graves.  Yet  this  is  the 
instructive  lesson  abundantly  taught  by  experience,  and  fully  seen  in  the 
case  before  us. 

Mr.  Hayt  passed  his  youth  amid  the  influences  of  stern  and  uncom- 
promising principles,  and  stood  forth  on  the  stage  of  manhood,  just  at  the 
time  when  our  armies  were  victorious,  and  independence  was  conceded  to 
our  nation.  In  humble  life  he  moved  forward  amid  those  trials  of  depres- 
sion succeeding  the  war,  which  were  almost  too  great  for  our  republic  in  its 
infancy  to  bear.  Severe  as  the  Avar  had  been,  bloody  as  was  the  conflict, 
the  years  following  our  independence  were  hardly  less  trying.  In  his  youth, 
he  learned  the  trade  of  a  shoemaker,  as  well  as  that  of  a  tanner  and  currier, 
and  in  this  trying  hour  in  the  nation's  history,  sustained  himself  by  his  labors, 
and  laid  the  foundations  of  his  future  success.  The  writer  has  often 
heard  him  remark  on  the  trials  of  that  period,  when  a  permanent  govern- 
ment had  not  been  organized,  and  no  reliable  currency  was  in  circula- 
tion. Our  credit,  abroad  and  at  home,  was  gone.  The  war  had  exhausted 
all  the  nation  could  furnish,  except  the  resolve  to  be  free.  Such  was  the 
condition  of  our  country  when  the  subject  of  our  notice  married  Miss 
Sarah  Delavan,  of  Nortli  Salem,  County  of  Westchester,  New  York. 
Miss  Delavan  was  the  daughter  of  Timothy  Delavan,  grandson  of  Timo- 
thy Delavan,  a  Huguenot  who  fled  from  his  native  coimtry  after  the  revo- 
cation of  the  edict  of  Nantes,  by  Louis  XIV.  As  religion  was  the  cause 
for  which  the  early  settlers  of  our  country  suffered  banishment  from  their 
native  land,  the  fruit  of  this  sacrifice  was  clearly  seen  in  the  blessing  of  God 
on  their  posterity.  Timothy  Delavan  2nd  married  Miss  Boughten  fi-om 
Connecticut,  who  was  converted  under  the  preaching  of  Whitfield,  at  the 
age  of  14.  Timothy  Delavan  1st  was  married  to  an  Ii'ish  lady,  by  whom 
he  had  one  son  and  several  daughters.  This  son  became  the  lather  of  ten 
sons,  nine  of  whom  served  their  country  in  the  revolution,  the  tenth  being 
too  young  for  service.  These  nine  brothers  all  distinguished  themselves 
as  officers  or  privates  in  the  republican  army,  and  also  contributed  freely 
from  their  private  fortunes  to  the  support  of  our  armies,  particularly  the 
French  troops.  The  oldest  of  these  ten  sons  was  the  father  of  Mrs. 
Hayt ;  the  two  older  brothers,  Stephen  and  John  Hayt,  married  two 
other  sisters  in  the  same  family,  so  the  uncommon  occurrence'  of  three 
brothers  joined  in  marriage  with  three  sisters  was  here  witnessed. 

But  now  an  important  period  had  anived,  which  changed  the  firm 
and  prudent  youth  to  the  responsible  character  of  a  husband.     His  mother 


SAMUEL    A.    HAYT,    OF    FISIIKILL,    NEW    YORK.  3G9 

was  still  living  to  counsel  and  comfort  him,  but  she  had  become  the  wife 
of  another,  and  her  older  children  wore  left  to  their  own  guidance.  Mr. 
Hayt  was  liajtpy  in  his  marriage  relation,  his  home  had  his  heart,  and 
ever  continued  to  him  the  dearest  spot  of  earth.  While  his  disposition 
and  feelings  were  eminently  social,  he  was  always  happiest  when  that 
society  was  Avithin  his  own  home,  sharing  Avith  him  the  smiles  that  ever 
beamed  around  his  own  fireside. 

As  a  father,  no  one  not  intimate  with  his  family,  can  understand  the 
endearing  intercourse  which  Mr.  Hayt  maintained  with  his  children. 
While  he  often  rehearsed  the  toils  of  his  own  youth,  he  sought  to  fix  in 
their  minds  the  purpose  of  firm  endurance,  unspotted  integrity,  and  noble 
emulation.  Being  himself  so  accustomed  to  meet  and  triumph  over 
difficulties,  he  ever  encouraged  the  young  to  go  on  confident  of  success. 
Two  years  before  his  marriage,  Mr.  Ilayt  lemoved  to  what  was  then 
Fredericksburgh,  Dutchess  county,  New  York,  now  Patterson,  Putnam 
County.  After  his  marriage  he  removed  to  North  Salem,  the  native 
place  of  Mrs.  Hayt.  In  1797  he  returned  to  Dutchess  County.  His 
family  was  now  small.  Two  surviving  children  gladdened  his  home  as 
he  placed  himself  in  what  he  intended  should  be  his  permanent  abode. 
He  now  bent  his  eftbrts  chielly  to  agricultural  pursuits,  became  a  very 
respectable  practical  farmer,  and  continued  in  that  honored  occupation 
till  old  age.  The  church  in  Patterson  not  enjoying  the  labois  of  a  pastor 
for  many  years,  many  changes  in  religious  teachers  occurred. 

Mr.  Hayt  ever  cherished  a  frank  regard  for  the  Presbyterian  Church, 
the  church  of  his  parentage,  a  church  that  cherished  the  faith  for  which 
his  ancestors  had  suftered  much,  but  did  not  connect  himself  with  the 
people  of  God  till  1818,  when  a  powerful  revival  of  religion  was  enjoyed 
in  the  church  at  Patterson,  which  was  then  vacant,  but  supplied  during 
the  revival  by  the  late  Eev.  Eliphalet  Price,  whose  very  acceptable  labors 
were  most  highly  prized  by  all  who  enjoyed  them. 

Mr.  Hayt  and  family,  especially,  enjoyed  this  refreshing.  His  children 
were  now  numerous,  consisting  of  three  sons  and  four  daughters.  The 
Spirit  of  the  Lord  led  these  parents  and  two  of  their  children  to  profess 
Christ.  From  this  time  onward,  the  heads  of  this  family  appear  to  have 
fixed  their  hearts  on  a  better  world,  even  a  heavenly.  Much  indeed  did 
the  subject  of  this  notice  need  that  strength  that  cometii  from  above,  for 
soon  the  liealth  of  Mrs.  Hayt  began  to  decline.  Slow  and  silent  was  the 
progress  of  her  illness.  Firmly  and  steadily  did  she  look  at  death  as  his 
unmistaken  footsteps  advanced.  Sweetly  went  she  down  to  the  grave, 
while  her  family  wept  no  common  mother.  As  her  husband  bowed  to 
this  providence,  so  he  arose  from  the  stroke  by  which  he  had  been  smit- 
ten, smiled  upon  his  family,  and  onward  pressed  with  chastened,  but 
becoming  cheerfulness.  Soon  after  his  union  with  the  church,  Mr.  Hayt 
was  elected  a  ruling-  elder  in  the  same,  when  new  duties  awaited  him  and 
new  trials  were  to  be  borne.  Little  do  our  wealthy  and  prosperous 
churches  know  of  the  trials  of  a  little  flock,  few  in  numbers  and  feeble  in 
their  means  for  supporting  the  gospel.  Here  the  services  cf  a  minister 
cannot  be  easily  obtained,  and  when  engaged  the  scanty  means  for  his 
subsistence  often  leave  him  no  alternative  but  to  starve  or  fly.  In  such 
circumstances,  the  eldership,  on  whom  the  duty  of  supplying  the  pulpit 
in  the  Presbyterian  church  devolves,   are  often  perplexed  and  discou- 

VOL.    III.  24 


3*70  SKETCHES    OF    EMINENT    AMERICANS. 

raged.  Such  was  the  condition  of  the  church  for  a  season,  of  which  Mr. 
Hayt  was  an  elder,  but  he  was  always  at  his  post  and  prudent  in  his 
counsels. 

In  1831,  he  was  again  married  and  again  happy  in  his  new  relation. 
Piously  passed  they  together  a  few  short  years,  and  again  was  he  bereaved, 
and  again  were  all  who  knew  the  departed  in  mourning. 

His  strength  now  began  to  abate;  the  evening  of  his  earthly  day 
began  to  cast  its  shadows  over  his  path,  and  the  fire  of  his  eye  lost  its 
brightness.  Often  was  he  assailed  1.)y  disease,  and  as  often  would  nature, 
inured  to  suffer,  repel  the 'assault,  and  health  again  be  restored.  His 
sons  were  all  settled  fiom  him,  and  none  but  his  daughters  and  domestics 
formed  his  family;  still  was  his  home  cheerful,  and  all  who  shared  its  kind 
welcome  as  guests,  felt  it  a  privilege  to  mark  the  evening  serenity  and 
cheerful  conversation  of  this  aged  parent. 

As  the  shades  of  life's  evening  deepen,  he  turns  away  from  the  cares 
and  toils  and  busile  of  a  farm  to  a  more  quiet  retreat,  and  on  a  beautiful 
spot  near  his  church  he  retires  to  enjoy  the  sweets  of  aged  repose,  and 
prepare  for  that  change  which  he  shortly  expected. 

For  several  years  he  continued  in  his  new  abode,  relishing  the  sweets 
of  religious  consolation,  and  imparting  to  those  around  him  that  wbich 
he  himself  felt.  It  was  delightful  to  see  just  on  the  verge  of  the  grave 
one  enjoying  social  intercourse  with  all  the  zest  of  youth,  and  diverting 
by  his  varied  conversation  the  minds  of  others  from  scenes  of  sadness  to 
those  of  bright  and  ardent  trust  in  his  Redeemer.  His  last  sickness  was 
protracted  and  distressing,  but  trust  in  Christ  as  his  only  hope  of  sal- 
vation sustained  him  to  tlie  last.  Surrounded  by  his  children  he  went 
down  to  the  grave  in  the  8oth  year  of  his  age,  as  a  shock  of  corn  fully 
ripe. 

The  subject  of  this  biography,  Samuel  A.  Ilayt,  second  son  of  Samuel 
Hayt,  was  born  on  the  llh  of  March,  1801,  in  Franklin  (now  called  Patter- 
son), then  Dutchess,  now  Putnam  County.  For  a  number  of  years  previous 
to  his  childhood,  the  iidiabitants  of  that  village  had  been  favored  with 
a  very  flourishing  Academy  for  the  instruction  of  the  youth  of  both  sexes  ; 
and  tliough  the  buildings  devoted  to  this  purpose  were  destroyed  by 
fire  in  his  early  youth — the  influence  of  the  institution  continued  to  be 
felt,  rendering  the  residents  of  the  place  anxious  for  schools  of  the  best 
possible  character,  and  hence  careful  in  the  selection  of  the  best  quahfied 
teachers. 

At  the  age  of  fourteen,  Mr.  Hayt's  mind  became  deeply  impressed  with 
a  sense  of  his  obligations  to  (iod,  his  guilt  as  a  transgressor  of  his  law,  and 
his  need  of  a  Saviour.  His  convictions  of  sin  and  duty  continued  with 
some  variation  until  the  summer  of  1818,  when,  during  a  powerful  out- 
pouring of  God's  Spirit  upon  his  native  village,  his  mind  was  decided, 
to  take  Christ  as  his  God  and  Saviour,  and,  after  a  due  season  of 
prayerful  deliberation  and  self-examination,  he  connected  himself  with 
the  Presbyterian  Church  in  that  place. 

His  desire  at  this  time  was  to  obtain  a  liberal  education  ;  but  in  God's 
providence,  circumstances  were  so  ordered  as  to  render  the  fulfilment  of  his 
wishes  impracticable.  Hi-^fathei-'s  pecuniary  circumstances  could  not  admit 
the  expense,  while  at  the  same  time  his  services  were  needed  on  the  farm. 
Prompted  by  a  sense  of  filial  duty,  he  •heerfully  relinquished  his  own  favor- 


SAMUEL   A,    HAVT,    OF    FISHKILL,    NEW    YORK.  371 

ite  object,  and  devoted  himself  assiduously  to  the  assistance  of  liis  father 
in  his  agricultural  labors.  At  the  expiration  of  some  three  years,  his  health 
failing,  so  as  to  render  continued  farm  work  impossible,  and  some  employ- 
ment being  necessary,  at  the  urgent  recommendation  of  his  friends,  he 
engaged  in  teaching  a  school,  which  he  continued  for  about  two  years. 
Not  feeling  satisfied  with  his  new  vocation,  and  being  anxious  to  engage 
in  a  more  active  business,  he  then  turned  his  thoughts  to  merchandise, 
to  which  his  mind  had  a  tendency  at  a  very  early  age.  Yet,  like  many 
others  in  our  land  who  by  their  own  arduous  efforts  have  attained  opulence, 
he  was  almost  destitute  of  the  means  necessary  for  the  accomplishment 
of  his  purpose — two  hundred  and  fifty  dollars  constituting  the  whole 
amount  of  his  capital  ;  nor  was  this  the  only  difficulty  opposing  him. 
Aware  of  being  almost  entirely  ignorant  of  the  principles  on  which  mer- 
cantile business  is  conducted,  he  was  undeterred  by  difficulties  which 
would  have  caused  many  to  shrink  back,  and  determined  to  enter  on 
mercantile  life;  so  with  his  small  capital,  partially  aided  by  kind 
friends,  he  purchased  the  stock  of  a  merchant  in  his  native  village, 
and  commenced  business  on  his  own  account,  in  the  year  1825. 
Convinced  that  with  the  Divine  blessing,  by  industry,  economy,  con- 
scientiousness and  strict  attention  to  business,  prosperity  might  be  rea- 
sonably expected,  he  began  his  course,  resolved  to  exercise  the  strictest 
frugality,  probity,  and  diligence.  At  that  time  he  determined,  and  has 
ever  been  enabled  to  act  accordingly,  that  he  woi;ld  always  meet  his 
pecuniary  engagements  on  the  very  day  when  they  were  due — a  resolu- 
tion well  worthy  of  imitation  by  all  young  men  commencing  mercantile 
life. 

After  remaining  at  Patterson  for  two  years,  he  removed  to  Fishkill, 
Dutchess  County,  in  the  spring  of  1827,  where  he  entered  into  copart- 
nership with  an  elder  brother,  whose  larger  means  (tln-ough  his  much 
longer  continuance  in  business)  gave  promise  of  more  extensive  commer- 
cial operations.  Soon  after  this,  he  connected  himself  with  the  Reformed 
Dutch  Church  in  that  village,  of  which  he  has  been  for  many  years  an 
officer,  and  is  now  an  elder.  In  1829,  he  married  Catharine,  daughter 
of  Theodore  Van  Wyck,  Esq.,  who  connected  herself  with  the  sam*- 
church  in  1830.  This  marriage  relation,  while  one  of  much  happiness, 
was  terminated  by  the  death  of  Mrs.  H.,  in  1833.  Two  children  survived 
their  mother,  one  of  whom  followed  her  very  speedily  to  the  grave.  The 
other,  a  fine  promising  lad  of  ten  years  of  age,  was  drowned  while  bath- 
ing in  the  summer  of  1841.  In  1833,  a  short  time  previous  to  his  wife's 
decease,  his  older  brother  wishing  to  engage  in  other  business,  Mr.  Hayt 
proposed  to  purchase  the  whole  stock  of  goods,  and  conduct  future  ope- 
rations entirely  on  his  own  responsibility.  The  offer  was  accepted.  At 
this  time,  his  whole  capital  was  only  equal  to  one  fourth  part  of  the 
value  of  the  stock — his  habilities  were  great — he  saw  that  to  prevent 
bankruptcy,  the  most  careful  economy  must  now  be  practised,  and  the 
most  watchful  care  and  diligence  be  used.  While  his  mind  was  filled 
with  perplexing  cares  and  disquietude,  his  wife  sickened,  and  after  six 
weeks  of  suffering  died,  sustained  by  the  blessed  hopes  of  the  gospel  of 
Christ.  This  painful  bereavement  so  afiected  him,  as  for  a  time  almost 
to  disqualify  him  for  business. 

During  the  copartnership  subsisting  between  himself  and  brother,  they 


372  SKETCHES    OF    EMINENT    AMERICANS. 

entertained  some  difference  of  opinion  as  to  the  policy  of  large  or  small 
profits  on  articles  of  merchandise.  When  Mr.  Hayt  undertook  the  whole 
business  on  his  own  account,  he  embraced  the  opportunity  of  carrying  out 
his  favorite  theory,  to  ask  but  small  profits  on  the  goods  he  should  sell; 
the  result  was  fully  equal  to  his  anticipations.  Although  the  business  was 
extensive  before,  the  amount  of  sales  was  soon  doubled. 

From  the  time  he  purchased  his  brother's  share  in  the  business,  and 
began  to  conduct  it  on  his  own  responsibility,  his  worldly  prosperity  has 
exceeded  expectation,  and  proved  that  the  principles  of  action  with  which 
he  commenced  mercantile  life,  viz.  a  resolution  to  exercise  industry, 
economy,  conscientiousness  in  and  strict  attention  to  business — and  a 
determination  to  cherish  carefully  the  fear  of  the  Lord,  and  a  sense  of 
dependence  on  him,  are  those  which  best  ensure  success.  And  here  it 
may  be  noticed,  that  even  under  the  very  heavy  liabilities  he  had  assum  • 
ed,  so  methodically  and  successfully  was  his  business  prosecuted,  tliat  in 
the  pressure  of  1837,  when  the  whole  country  was  so  deeply  affected,  he 
was  entirely  free  from  all  embarrassment,  and  enabled  without  difficulty 
to  meet  all  his  engagements.  An  importation  (not  strictly  in  the  line 
of  his  business)  at  two  different  times,  while  very  successful  in  issue, 
appears  to  have  been  one  of  the  means  providentially  appointed  for  his 
relief. 

In  1838,  Mr.  Hayt  formed  a  new,  and  as  time  has  proved,  a  happy 
matrimonial  connexion  with  Miss  Lavinia,  daughter  of  David  Nichols, 
Esq.,  of  Bridgeport,  Conn.,  a  lady  of  piety  and  much  worth,  still  living. 
Three  sons  and  one  daughter  now  gladden  their  dwelling. 

In  1844,  he  determined  to  devote  a  fixed  percentage  of  his  income  to 
benevolent  purposes ;  regarding  this  as  not  his  own,  but  the  Lord's. 
And  his  experience  is,  that  since  he  commenced  that  practice,  he  has 
been  more  fully  blessed  in  many  respects  in  worldly  matters. 

In  1847,  a  favorable  opportunity  occurring,  he  opened  another  store 
at  Glenham,  a  manufacturing  place  about  two  and  a  half  miles  dis- 
tant from  Fishkill  village — thus  increasing  both  his  business  operations 
and  his  cares.     This  enterprise  he  continued  for  six  years. 

The  town  of  Fishkill  being  large  in  extent,  and  wealthy,  and  a  con- 
siderable amount  of  capital  being  invested  in  the  different  manufac- 
tories scattered  through  it — it  appeared  to  Mr.  Hayt  and  several  gentle- 
men associated  with  him,  that  a  bank  might  be  commenced  under  favor- 
able auspices.  But  there  was  a  difficulty  in  the  location  of  the  institu- 
tion— the  commercial  and  manufacturing  interests  varying  in  their  views. 
Prior  to  this,  therehadbeen,  in  1 829,  an  ineffectual  effort  to  obtain  a  charter 
for  a  Bank  from  the  Legislature  of  the  State.  And  in  1838,  after  the 
passage  of  the  general  Banking  law,  another  effort  was  made  to  open  a 
Bank  in  the  town,  which  failed,  the  necessary  amount  of  capital  not 
being  subscribed.  But  in  1849  the  effort  was  renewed,  and  the  village 
of  Fishkill  being  fixed  on  as  its  location,  secured  by  much  arduous  and 
persevering  effort,  an  amount  sufficient  for  the  enterprise  was  secured, 
and  the  bank  went  into  operation  in  June,  1850.  On  the  first  meeting 
of  the  Directors,  Mr.  Hayt  was  elected  President,  which  office  he  still 
retains.  So  prosperously  for  the  welfare  of  all  concerned  have  the  ope- 
rations of  this  Bank  been  prosecuted,  that  in  1851,  on  the  recommenda- 
tion of  the  Directors,  the  amount  of  capital  was  increased. 


SAMUEL    A.    IIAYT,    OF    FISHKILL,    NEW    YORK.  373 

Our  subject  is  now  in  the  53d  year  of  his  age.  The  business  habits  he 
formed  in  early  life  are  still  retained  in  all  their  force.  His  prosperity 
has  not  abated  his  diligence  in  business,  while  it  enables  him  abundantly 
to  provide  for  his  family's  comfort,  and  according  to  its  enlarged  measure, 
to  give  with  increased  liberality  to  the  various  objects  of  benevolence 
claiming  his  attention,  and  permits  him  to  manifest  himself  in  everything 
relative  to  the  welfare  of  the  community,  a  man  of  much  public  spi- 
rit. He  is  fearless  of  opposition  in  the  path  of  duty,  and  unwavering 
in  the  pursuit  of  what  his  judgment  and  conscience  approve.  His 
example  teaches  the  young  men  of  our  country,  that  for  their  success 
and  prosperity  in  life,  not  vast  capital  or  influential  friends  are  needed ; 
but  that  industry  and  economy,  combined  with  conscientiousness,  and 
exercised  in  the  fear  of  God,  and  with  reference  to  his  will,  point  to  the 
surest  path  to  the  accomplishment  of  their  desires. 


"■""  h  J  CBmreliani •iDaeuerreo^'^ 


ITBW  ORLKOirs ,  zonisi£:y.-i 


2ngnwed'ibr  3ioprap7ucdL  SkeiA&s  of  EmmsrU/^Arrierica^^ 


WILLIAM    CHRISTV,    OF    NEW    ORLEANS,    LA.  375 

COLONEL    WILLIAM    CHRISTY, 

OF  NEW  ORLEANS,  LA,,  "  THE  HERO  OF  FORT  MEIGGS." 

To  write  a  history  of  the  living  is  no  easy  task  for  a  friend  to  perform  : 
if  he  gives  scope  to  his  feelings  in  drawing  a  faithful  portrait  of  his  sub- 
ject, he  will  perhaps  be  accused  of  partiality  ;  and  if,  on  the  other  hand, 
he  endeavors  to  restrain  his  natural  regard  for  the  object  of  his  memoir 
— lest  he  offend  his  modesty  and  ap[)ear  fulsome — the  very  effort  in 
itself  to  do  so  renders  his  lano-uao;e  tame  and  lukewarm. 

To  steer  a  middle  course  between  these  extremes  will  be  the  object  ot 
the  writer  of  this  biographical  sketch  ;  and  he  will  merely  further  remark, 
that  he  presents  hei'cin  to  the  reader  nothing  that  is  not  obtained  from 
authentic  documents  and  the  recollection  of  those  who  know,  and  have 
long  associated  with  the  subject  of  this  memoir. 

Colonel  William  Christy,  of  New  Orleans,  the  subject  of  the  following 
biogi'aphical  sketch,  is  one  of  the  most  remarkable  men  of  the  present 
age,  and  would  have  proved  himself  a  man  of  note  in  any  that  has 
preceded  it ;  and  it  is  vvith  more  than  ordinary  feelings  of  pleasure  we 
have  undertaken,  with  the  assistance  of  those  perfectly  conversant  with 
his  history,  the  task  of  collecting  some  of  the  leading  points  in  his  life, 
in  order  to  lay  them  before  the  public ;  not  only  as  a  tribute  due  to 
himself,  his  relatives  and  friends,  but  that  a  perusal  of  this  brief  sketch 
of  an  eventful  life  may  serve  to  stimulate  every  young  man  to  "  go  and 
do  likewise." 

Colonel  Christy  was  born  in  George  Town,  Scott  County,  Kentucky, 
on  the  6lh  day  of  December,  1791.  His  ancestors,  who  w^ere  opulent 
and  respectable  farmers,  in  company  with  many  others  of  the  same  class, 
removed  from  the  state  of  Virginia  at  a  very  early  period  after  the 
settlement  of  the  North  Western  Teriitory,  and  located  upon  lands 
purchased  or  entered  at  and  around  the  place  of  his  nativity,  and  were 
consequently  among  the  earliest  settlers  of  that  fertile  and  picturesque 
portion  of  the  state  when  it  was  known  as  "  the  Bloody  Ground." 

His  mother — a  lady  of  great  personal  attractions,  and  still  more 
remarkable  for  the  possession  of  all  those  qualities  of  head  and  heart 
which  adorn  the  American  female  character — was  named  Mary  Cave,  a 
near  relative  of  the  late  Colonel  Richai-d  M.  Johnson  (late  Vice-President 
of  the  United  States),  and  a  lineal  descendant  of  the  Rev.  William  Cave, 
who  was  chaplain  to  Charles  II.  of  England,  as  we  find  in  Lempriere's 
Biographical  Dictionary.  Her  foreftithers  removed  from  England,  and 
fo-med  a  portion  of  the  early  settlers  of  the  then  colony  of  Virginia. 

His  father  was  of  S(;ottish  descent ;  and  his  ancestors  likewise  emigrated 
to  Virginia  about  the  same  period  that  his  mother's  did  from  Eng- 
land. He  was  a  man  of  liberal,  generous,  and  great  social  qualities, 
but  for  the  possession  of  which  he  might  have  acquired  an  ample  inde- 
pendence for  his  family.  During  the  almost  infancy  of  the  Colonel,  his 
father,  with  that  restless  desire  of  change  of  scene  and  habitation  which 
was  characteristic  of  the  early  settlers  of  the  then  "  Far  West,"  disp;;sed 
of  his  lands  in  and  around  George  Town,  and  removed  to  Boone  County, 


376  SKE;c'iii:;.s  of  eminent  Americans, 

in  the  same  state,  situate  upoi)  the  Ohio  river,  in  the  vicinity  of  Cincin- 
nati, where  he  commenced  farming.  Being,  however,  of  an  active  and 
enterprising  disposition,  he  again  sold  the  bulk  of  his  property,  and 
opened  upon  a  new  career  as  a  kind  of  country  merchant  in  connexion 
with  farming,  which  he  still  continued,  although  on  a  more  limited  scale. 
Soon  after  this  he  fell  ill  and  died,  leaving  a  widow  and  six  children — 
the  Colonel  being  next  to  the  eldest,  who  was  a  daughter,  and  but 
twelve  years  of  age.  His  father's  business  not  having  been  a  prosperous 
one,  his  estate  proved  barely  sufficient  to  pay  off  his  debts,  leaving  his 
family  entirely  unprovided  for. 

In  less  than  two  years  from  this  eventful  period  of  his  life,  the  Colonel 
had  the  further  misfortune  to  lose  his  amiable,  gifted,  and  devoted 
mother.  Thus  was  he  left  at  the  early  age  of  fourteen  years,  and  with- 
out any  means,  the  head  of  his  family  and  the  sole  support  of  an  elder 
sister,  two  brothers  and  a  younger  sister,  one  other  brother  having  died 
before  his  mother. 

The  want  of  proper  schools  in  Kentucky,  at  that  early  period  of  her 
history,  was  seriously  felt  by  all  classes,  and  the  Colonel  found  himself 
and  his  little  family  of  brothers  and  sisters  with  but  the  rudiments  of  an 
ordinary  country-school  education.  This  was  a  state  of  things  calculated 
to  crush  the  spirits  of  even  manhood  itself,  much  less  that  of  a  boy  of 
fourteen  :  but  so  far  from  this  boy  giving  way  to  hopelessness  and 
despair,  the  very  difficulties  that  beset  his  path  served  only  to  quicken 
and  develope  the  germ  of  that  character  for  determination  which  was 
latent  within  him,  and  to  call  into  immediate  action  that  talent  which 
had  not  hitherto  a  field  upon  which  to  display  itself. 

With  that  energy  of  purpose  of  which  we  have  already  spoken,  and 
which  has  been  a  leading  feature  of  Colonel  Christy's  character  through- 
out his  entire  life,  it  requiied  but  little  time  for  him  to  resolve,  and 
having  resolved  to  act,  he  said  to  himself,  "  I  will  do  what  I  can  for  my 
brothers  and  sisters  ;  I  will  be  educated,  and  rise  to  distinction  and 
fortune  ;  nor  will  I  rely  upon  the  bounty  of  my  more  wealthy  relatives." 
No  time  was  wasted :  to  carry  out  these  resolves  he  was  compelled 
to  labor  in  the  field  by  day,  and  at  night  to  become  a  student.  But 
what  progress  could  he  hope  to  make  in  any  important  branches  of 
education  under  such  circumstances ;  for,  as  before  stated,  there  were  no 
good  schools  in  the  neighborhood,  and  his  means  did  not  permit  him  to 
avail  himself  of  those  at  a  distance.  At  this,  perhaps  the  most  critical 
moment  of  his  life,  chance  threw  in  his  way  a  most  estimable  gentleman, 
who  proved  to  be  not  only  a  ripe  scholar,  but  an  excellent  teacher,  pos- 
sessing that  rare  talent  of  imparting  to  others  the  knowledge  he  him- 
self had  acquired.  Our  youthful  aspirant  engaged  this  gentleman  as  his 
private  teacher,  or  usher,  as  they  were  termed  in  those  days.  The 
master  soon  felt  the  liveliest  interest  in  his  pupil,  and  did  not  cease  his 
instructions  until  he  had  prepared  him  for  the  study  of  the  law,  upon 
which  he  entered  during  the  year  ISll. 

Years  rolled  on  whilst  he  was  laboring — physically  for  bread  to  sus- 
tain the  body,  and  mentally  to  furnish  food  for  that  master  mind  which 
has  now  few  superiors. 

A  thousand  incidents  of  an  interesting  and  thrilling  character,  which 
occurred  during  his  minority,  might  be  here  cited  as  illustrative  of  the 


WILLIAM    CHRISTV,    UF    NKW    ORLEANS,    LA.  377 

d  ffi  ulties  hu  liail  to  surmount  in  order  to  accomplish  the  object  of 
his  Huibition;  it  would,  however,  swell  this  sketch  to  too  great  a  length, 
and  we  must  therefore  leave  them  to  the  imagination  of  the  reaaer. 

From  the  political  aspect  of  things  at  this  time  (1811),  it  was  evident 
that  a  war  between  Great  Britain  and  this  country  was  inevitable;  and 
accoi'diiigly  war  was  actually  declared  by  Congress  on  the  18th  day  of 
June,  I8I2. 

hi  anticipation  of  this  occurrence  many  volunteer  companies  were 
formed  throughout  the  state  of  Kentucky,  to  be  in  readiness  to  take  the 
lield  at  a  moment's  warning.  Of  these  companies  was  one  raised  by 
Cajitain  Uriel  Sebree,  in  Boone  County,  where  our  young  law-student 
resided,  the  first  one  organized  in  the  state,  and  young  Christy's  was 
the  tirst  name  enrolled  upon  the  list  thereof;  he  therefore  may  be  said 
to  have  been  the  very  first  volunteer  in  the  gallant  state  of  Kentucky 
who  shouldered  a  ritie  to  uphold  the  American  name  and  honor  in  the 
Second  War  of  Independence,  as  it  might  be  called. 

Subsequently,  with  a  view  of  prosecuting  his  studies  to  greater  advan- 
tage, Christy  fixed  his  residence  at  George  Town,  Kentucky — his  birth- 
place— and  as  Sebree's  company,  to  which  he  had  previously  attached 
himself,  was  not  called  into  active  service  until  a  year  after  its  formation, 
he  joined  the  army  at  a  different  point.  This  company,  however,  greatly 
distinguished  itself  at  the  battle  and  massacre  of  the  river  Raisin,  as  will 
appear  in  the  course  of  this  sketch. 

We  now  enter  upon  the  military  career  of  the  "  young  hero  of  Fort 
Meiggs,"  for  .such  was  the  appellation  he  earned  at  the  memorable  siege 
of  that  fort. 

Young  Christy  was  seated  upon  a  bridge  near  the  Great  Crossings, — 
a  beautifully  romantfc  spot  in  the  vicinity  of  George  Town, — engaged  in 
the  study  of  Blackstone,  when  the  mail  carrier  dashed  past,  having  the 
word  "War,"  in  prominent  characters,  posted  upon  his  hat.  The  book 
fell  fi'om  the  hands  of  the  student,  and  was  at  once  replaced  by  the  sword 
and  rifle.  He  lost  no  time  in  reaching  the  scene  of  active  operations,  and 
was  at  once  selected  by  General  Harrison,  who  had  been  a  neighbor  of 
bis  father's  and  knew  him  intimately,  for  staft-duty. 

At  the  siege  t)f  Fort  Meiggs  he  was  the  acting  quarter-master  and 
store-keeper,  and  had  charge  of  all  the  public  property  and  stores  of 
whatever  description.  He  also  served  as  aide-de-camp  to  General  Har- 
rison, and  in  these  several  capacities  was  much  exposed  and  greatly  dis- 
tinguished himself  during  the  entire  continuance  of  the  siege, — which 
lasted  twelve  days  and  nights, — not  only  bv  his  promptness  in  the  dis- 
charge of  his  numerous  duties,  but  by  his  deliberate  coolness  in  the  midst 
of  the  danger  which  met  them  on  every  side.  He  never  missed  an  op- 
portunity of  using  his  rifle  upon  the  Indians,  when  at  times  they  ap- 
proached the  fort  near  enough  to  come  within  range  of  his  weapon,  and 
at  least  one  of  their  warriors  was  seen  to  fall  beneath  his  unerring  aim. 

The  fort  was  closely  besieged  by  a  combined  force  of  4,000  British 
troops  and  Indians,  commanded  by  General  Proctor, — the  Indian  force 
being  under  the  immediate  command  of  the  celebrated  warrior-chief 
Tecumseh. 

Against  this  force,  the  Americans  had  but  1,400  men — regulars  and 
volunteers — for  the  defence  of  the  fort,  with  very  limited  munitions  of 


3*78  SKETCHES    OF    EMINENT    AMERICANS. 

war  and  other  necessary  means  of  defence ;  added  to  all  of  which,  the 
stock  of  provisions  in  the  fort  was  quite  small. 

The  privations  and  sufterings  of  the  besieged  were  of  a  terrible  charac- 
ter, but  they  were  borne  with  that  fortitude,  and  even  cheerfulness,  which 
never  forsakes  freemen  when  battling  in  defence  of  their  homes  and 
rights  ;  a  striking  and  encouraging  example  being  set  them  by  the  Com- 
mander-in-Chief and  his  youthful  aide. 

At  leno-th  when  all  hope  of  succor  had  almost  abandoned  them,  a  re- 
inforcement of  Kentucky  militia,  under  the  command  of  General  Green 
Clay,  by  descending  the  Miami  River,  arrived  in  the  neighborhood  of 
the  fort  undiscovered  by  the  enemy,  and  encamped  a  few  miles  above. 

The  fort,  as  it  has  been  called,  was  situate  upon  the  banks  of  the  Miami 
River,  and  consisted  of  an  area  of  some  seven  acres,  inclosed  by  pickets ; 
which  afforded  but  a  partial  protection  against  even  musket  or  rifle 
balls. 

At  midnight  of  the  4th  May,  1813,  a  messenger  from  General  Green 
Clay  descended  the  river  in  a  canoe,  and  reached  the  fort  without  the 
knowledge  of  the  enemy,  bringing  the  welcome  intelligence  of  the  arrival 
of  the  above-named  reinforcement,  which  had  been  so  anxiously  expected 
for  several  days.  In  anticipation  of  its  earlier  arrival,  General  Harrison 
had  matured  his  plans  for  striking  a  decisive  blow  in  order  to  relieve  the 
fort  from  a  further  continuance  of  the  siege. 

At  the  commencement  of  this  siege  two  batteries  had  been  erected  by 
the  enemy  :  the  one,  directly  in  front  of  the  fort,  on  the  opposite  bank 
of  the  river,  at  a  distance  of  about  800  yards  ;  the  other,  in  the  rear  of 
the  fort,  at  a  less  distance.  The  exact  position  of  things,  as  well  as  the 
plan  of  attack  intended  to  be  made  by  General  Harrison  on  the  follow- 
ing morning,  was  minutely  explained  to  the  messenger  of  General  Clay, 
who,  after  receiving  the  written  orders  to  that  officer,  departed  before 
daylight  by  the  route  he  had  come,  and  arrived  at  his  destination  in 
safety. 

A  portion  of  General  Clay's  reinforcement  consisted  of  a  regiment  com- 
posed of  the  flower  of  Kentucky's  most  gallant  sons,  commanded  by  Colo- 
nel Dudley,  of  Lexington,  Kentucky.  General  Clay  was  ordered  to  detail 
this  regiment  for  the  following  special  service : — The  men  to  be  landed 
from  canoes,  at  a  given  hour  the  next  morning,  near  the  battery,  on  the 
opposite  bank  of  the  river  ;  which  after  storming,  destroying  the  gun-car- 
riages, and  spiking  the  cannon,  they  were  to  return  to  their  canoes,  and 
cross  over  to  the  fort  as  expeditiously  as  possible.  As  we  have  already 
observed,  these  orders  were  given  minutely,  and  a  strict  observance  of 
them  enjoined,  as  General  Harrison  was  well  assured  in  his  own  mind 
that  this  could  easily  be  accomplished  without  endangering  the  regiment 
of  Colonel  Dudley ;  as  the  British  force  left  in  charge  of  the  battery  was 
barely  suflicient  to  man  the  guns  eftectively,  the  main  force  of  the  enemy 
being  encamped  some  two  miles  below. 

General  Clay  was  further  directed  to  eftect  a  simultaneous  landing 
with  the  remainder  of  his  forces  a  short  distance  above  the  fort,  into 
which  he  was  to  cut  his  way  through  the  Indians  under  Tecumseh,  and 
who  occupied  a  position  between  him  (General  Clay)  and  the  fort. 

The  order  to  Colonel  Dudley  was  promptly  and  successfully  executed 
without  the  loss  of  a  man  on  his  part ;  but  such  was  the  enthusiasm  of 


WILLIAM    CHRISTY,    OF    NEW    ORLEANS,    LA.  379 

his  gallant  band,  that  he  found  it  impossible  to  keep  them  together  so  as 
to  eti'ect  the  required  re-embarkation  in  order  to  cross  to  the  fort,  and  be- 
fore any  steps  could  be  taken  for  this  pui-pose,  the  large  reserve  of  the 
British  force  marched  up  the  distance  of  two  miles,  and  falHng  ujion  this 
scatttred  regiment,  the  result  was  inevitable  :  after  a  shai'p  and  severe  con- 
flict, in  which  the  Kentuckians  behaved  with  gTeat  bravery  and  firmness 
— many  of  their  number  having  tallen,  with  their  gallant  colonel  at  their 
head— -and  others  being  woun  led — they  were  forced  to  yield  to  overpow- 
ering numbers,  and  surrendered  to  the  enemy. 

At  the  same  moment  of  this  attack,  General  Clay,  in  obedience  to  or- 
ders, landed  the  remainder  of  his  command  above  the  fort  and  fought  his 
way  successfully  through  Tecumseh's  Indian  force,  sustaining  but  a  trifling 
loss,  and  entered  the  fort. 

Another  part  of  General  Harrison's  well  digested  plan  of  attack  was, 
that  simultaneous  with  these  respective  movements  of  General  Clay  and 
Colonel  Dudley,  a  sortie  was  to  be  made  from  the  fort  to  carry  the  bat- 
tery planted  in  the  rear  of  it,  which  was  eflected  by  one  of  the  most  bril- 
liant charges  ever  made  in  any  country.  Out  of  the  small  force  defend- 
ing the  fort,  but  360  men  could  be  spared  for  this  perilous  service,  and 
they  hastily  selected  from  the  various  corps  at  a  moment's  notice. 

For  the  proper  protection  of  the  fort,  the  timber  had  been  previously 
felled  to  some  distance,  and  to  the  width  of  500  or  600  yards ;  the  bat- 
tery of  the  enemy  being  erected  upon  the  edge  of  this  clearing,  and  de- 
fended by  a  force  of  British  regulars  and  Indians,  some  1,200  strong. 

This  little  Spartan  band  of  360  Americans  was  commanded  and  led  by 
the  late  Colonel  Miller,  who  formed  them  in  line  of  battle  on  the  cleared 
space  outside  the  fort,  and  marched  them  in  regular  order  to  within  thirty 
or  forty  paces  of  the  batteries,  without  a  shot  being  fired  on  either  side. 
The  enemy,  as  was  afterwards  learned  from  the  prisoners  taken,  having 
counted  this  small  force  as  it  crossed  the  open  plain,  intended,  as  they 
said,  "  to  make  a  breakfast  spell  of  them,"  by  capturing  the  entire  com- 
mand ;  and  accordingly  gave  orders  not  to  open  the  first  fire.  This  was 
precisely  what  the  detachment  would  have  chosen  had  they  had  the 
choice  of  directing  the  battery ;  as  they  themselves  had  received  orders 
not  to  waste  a  shot.  On  arriving  within  thirty  or  forty  paces  of  the  bat- 
tery, as  we  have  previously  stated,  the  word  "j?re"  was  given,  and  a  more 
deadly  volley  was  never  poured  out  from  the  same  number  of  pieces  :  a 
charge  was  then  ordered  to  be  made,  but  there  were  few  of  the  enemy  left 
to  withstand  it ;  that  one  terrible  fire  had  done  its  work,  and  they  were 
defeated.  Victory  was  not,  however,  so  easily  secured  on  the  enemy's 
left,  and  on  the  right  of  the  American  line. 

Of  the  sortie  party  of  560  men,  a  company  of  militia,  commanded  by 
Captain  William  Sebree  (a  brother  of  Captain  Uriel  Sebree,  mentioned  in 
a  previous  part  of  this  sketch),  formed  a  part,  and  as  they  marched  out 
of  the  fort,  young  Christy  shouldered  his  rifle,  and  fell  into  the  ranks 
as  a  volunteer  for  the  occasion  ; — many  of  those  composing  this  com- 
pany being  his  friends  and  relatives,  and  the  captain  himself,  a  cousin 
of  his. 

To  effect  this  purpose  he  had  to  leave  the  Commander-in-Chief  by 
stealth,  as  he  had  been  directed  by  him  to  keep  near  his  person  at  all 
times  during  the  siege,  as  from  the  daring  courage  and  activity  displayed 


380  SKETCHES    OF    EMINENT    AMERICANS. 

by  this  young  man,  he  had  found  him  extremely  useful  on  every  occasion 
where  he  had  required  his  services. 

Captnin  Sebree's  company  occupied  the  extreme  right  of  the  line  at 
the  moment  of  the  attack  upon  the  battery,  and  Tecumseh,  with  his 
entire  Indian  force,  having  become  disengaged  from  the  conflict  with 
the  command  of  General  Clay,  had  time  to  march  down  the  few  hundred 
yards  intervening,  and  engaged  this  end  of  the  American  line.  In  doing 
so,  with  that  soldierly  skill — far  surpassing  ordinary  savage  cunning — 
for  which  he  was  celebrated,  the  wily  chief  divided  his  force,  keeping 
but  a  comparatively  small  portion  of  it  to  meet  the  onset  of  the  charge 
in  front,  and  reserving  the  remainder  for  a  coup-de-main.  His  plan  for 
a  time  was  successful,  for  as  soon  as  he  discovered  that  the  battle  raged 
along  the  entire  line,  he  led  this  large  reserve  in  the  rear  of  Sebree's 
company,  by  which  movement  it  was  at  once  inclosed  on  three  sides  by 
an  overpowering  force,  numbering  four  or  five  to  one  : — Captain  Sebree 
being  in  front,  gallantly  leading  the  charge,  and  in  which  his  clothes 
were  pierced  by  seven  bullets.  Christy  faced  about,  and  called  upon 
those  still  within  reach  of  his  voice  to  join  him  in  repulsing  the  insidious 
foe  in  the  rear.  About  one  third  of  the  company  promptly  answered  to 
the  call,  and  placed  themselves  under  his  lead. 

All  this  took  place  in  much  less  time  than  we  can  recount  it.  The 
struggle  v.'hich  endued  at  this  point,  was  one  of  the  most  severe  and  bloody 
ever  witnessed  on  any  battle  field  in  this  country ;  and  it  might  very 
properly  have  been  termed,  "  a  hand  to  hand  encounter." 

The  Indians,  conscious  of  their  great  superiority  of  numbers,  pressed 
upon  this  handful  of  Americans,  some  of  whom  fell  at  every  fire,  and 
Tecuinseh  approached  within  fifteen  or  twenty  paces  of  the  spot  where 
our  young  leader  stood,  and  who  had  then  received  two  wounds,  which 
fortunately  did  not  disable  him. 

Chiisty  now  discovered  that  his  little  band  had  all  fallen  but  himself 
and  two  others,  one  of  whom,  a  moment  after,  was  shot  through  the  body, 
and  fell  against  him.  There  remained  now  but  one  means  by  which  he 
could  hope  to  escape,  and  that  was  by  outrunning  them  ;  he  remembered 
that  in  contests  of  foot-races  with  the  Indians,  he  had  never  been  de- 
feated by  his  red-skin  competitors.  Having  soon  made  up  his  mind 
to  this  course,  he  set  about  its  execution  :  throwing  his  rifle  into  the 
palm  of  his  hands,  he  made  his  bow  to  Tecumseh  and  started,  pursued 
by  the  whole  of  his  savage  force,  who  had  none  to  contend  against  at 
that  point,  as  the  remainder  of  Sebree's  company  had  steadily  pushed 
forward  to  the  attack  upon  the  battery  in  front,  and  were  consequently 
not  within  reach  of  this  portion  of  the  enemy  in  the  rear. 

It  now  became  manifest  to  Christy,  that  the  object  of  his  treacherous 
foe  was  to  cut  him  oft"  from  the  main  line,  from  which  he  had  been 
separated.  The  Indians  were  on  his  left  when  this  race  for  life  com- 
menced— for  such  it  was,  as  he  had  not  only  to  outrun  them,  but  to 
receive  a  constant  cross-fire,  which  the  Red  Devils  kept  up  as  they  ran. 
His  exceeding  fleetness  of  foot,  however,  for  which  he  was  remarkable 
even  later  in  life,  enabled  him,  after  a  severe  run  of  700  or  800  yards,  to 
leave  his  pursuers  behind,  when  they  gave  up  the  chase,  thus  insuring 
his  safety. 

Meanwhile,  the  battery  having  been  taken,  and  victory  rendered  com- 


WILLIAM    CHRISTY,    OF    NEW    ORLEANS,    LA,  381 

plete  on  the  left,  it  enabled  a  portion  of  the  American  force  nearest  the 
scene  of  action  to  become  disengaged,  with  which,  as  Christy  had  hoped, 
he  fortunately  fell  in.  To  tell  of  his  escape  and  demand  aid  for  the 
rescue  of  the  remainder  of  Sebree's  company  from  their  perilous  situation, 
was  but  the  work  of  a  moment.  His  appeal  was  heartily  responded  to ; 
and  with  this  reinforcement,  composed  principally  of  some  regulars  of 
Captain  Croghan's  company,  a  portion  of  Lieutenant  Gwynn's  command, 
and  a  few  of  that  noble  and  gallant  company,  the  Petersburg  volunteers, 
without  taking  time  to  rest,  he  retraced  his  steps  to  the  scene  from 
which  he  had  so  recently  fled,  and  again  encountered  that  redoubtable 
chieftain,  Tecumseh.  Here  occurred  another  severe  conflict,  in  which 
more  than  a  dozen  of  the  enemy  and  several  of  the  whites  fell. 

The  tables  were  now  turned,  and  Tecumseh,  finding  himself  compelled 
to  give  way  to  the  impetuosity  of  the  youthful  leader,  who  led  the  charge 
with  bayonets,  retreated. 

It  thus  became  our  hero's  turn  to  pursue,  which  he  did  with  much 
eagerness,  when  the  order  to  retreat  reached  him,  which  he  was  reluc- 
tantly forced  to  obey — and  at  a  moment,  too,  when  he  had  the  foe  in 
his  power,  and  was  burning  to  revenge  his  friends  who  had  fallen  around 
him.     The  work,  however,  was  done,  and  the  triumph  complete. 

But  for  this  timely  succor,  so  opportunely  presenting  itself,  the  ad- 
vance of  Sebree's  company  would  undoubtedly  have  been  cut  oft",  and 
massacred  by  the  savages.  The  way  back  to  the  fort  was  now  rendered 
free,  and  the  shattered  remnants  of  this  gallant  company,  one  half  of 
which  had  been  killed  or  wounded,  returned  over  the  spot  which  had  so 
recently  been  occupied  by  the  warriors  of  Tecumseh. 

On  his  way  back  to  the  fort,  Christy  stumbled  upon  one  of  his  com- 
panions who  had'  been  shot  through  the  lungs  and  left  for  dead ;  but 
finding  him  still  alive,  he  took  him  upon  his  back  and  carried  him  into 
the  fort,  where  he  ultimately  recovered.  Nor  did  he  leave  behind  him 
his  trusty  rifle,  which  had  that  day,  as  before,  done  such  good  service 
(for  he  was  seen  to  bring  to  the  ground  two  of  the  savages),  but  bore  it 
safely  into  the  fort,  as  a  trophy. 

From  this  time,  until  the  close  of  General  Harrison's  campaign,  this 
young  man  was  known  throughout  the  army,  as  the  "Hero  of  Fort 
Meiggs." 

.  Among  many  flattering  testimonials  which  could  be  offered  in  support 
of  the  above  narrative,  is  the  following  extract  of  a  letter  from  General 
Harrison  to  Colonel  Richard  M.  Johnson,  dated  October  31,  1834,  which 
we  copy  from  a  printed  report  of  the  committee  on  claims  of  the  House 
of  Repi'esentatives,  of  which  Elisha  Whittlesey  was  chairman. 

"  But  these  peaceful  labors  were  not  calculated  to  satisfy  his  chival- 
rous spirit,  and  the  ardent  thirst  for  military  fame  which  had  induced 
him  to  abandon  his  studies  and  assume  the  military  habit.  Every  mo- 
ment which  he  could  spare  from  the  care  and  distribution  of  the  public 
stores,  was  employed  upon  the  lines,  where  he  often  exposed  himself  to 
the  enemy's  fire,  from  his  desire  to  retaliate  upon  them  with  his  rifle :  it 
was,  however,  on  the  eventful  5th  of  May,  that  occasion  was  presented 
to  him  to  distinguish  himself  in  a  manner  more  to  his  taste,  by  a  close 
conflict  with  the  enemy.  A  sortie  having  been  ordered  to  dislodge  the 
enemy  from  the  position  on  our  right  flank,  composed  of  Regulars  and 


382  SKETCHES    OF    EMINENT    AMERICANS. 

twelve  montLs'  volunteers,  I  directed  a  company  of  Kentucky  Riflemen, 
commanded  by  Captain  Sebree,  to  join  the  detachment,  to  cover  its  right 
flank  in  the  attack  of  the  British  Batteries.  In  its  advance,  this  company 
fell  in  with  the  mass  of  the  Indian  force,  commanded  by  Tecumseh — in 
the  conflict  that  ensued,  it  was  soon  surrounded  by  the  Indians,  and  was 
forced  to  divide  itself,  one  part  pursuing  the  enemy  to  the  front,  whilst 
the  otiier,  under  the  command  of  Christy,  faced  about  and  engaged  the 
Indians  in  the  rear.  This  gallant  little  band  were,  however,  overpowered, 
and  all  but  two,  and  its  heroic  leader,  killed — with  these  two,  himself 
slightly  wounded,  Christy  broke  through  the  enemy's  line,  and  joined 
the  Regular  Troops." 

The  Report  goes  on  to  say,  "  He  so  distinguished  himself,  on  the  same 
day,  under  the  command  of  Lieutenant  Gwynn,  who  commanded  a 
company  in  the  19th  Regiment,  that  General  Harrison  recommended 
him  to  the  Executive,  and  he  received  the  appointment  of  Second  Lieu- 
tenant in  the  army." 

There  is  a  slight  mistake  of  facts  in  this  part  of  the  Report,  as  it  was 
the  second  fight  with  the  reinforcement,  to  which  allusion  is  made,  and 
the  true  history  of  which  has  been  previously  given  in  this  sketch. 

In  connexion  with  the  subject  of  the  siege,  defence,  and  relief  of  Fort 
Meiggs,  it  is  deemed  due  to  the  memory  of  General  Harrison,  as  one  of 
the  oldest  and  truest  of  our  hero's  friends,  to  refer  to  the  treatment  he 
received  from  the  War  Department  towards  the  close  of  his  campaign, 
caused  principally,  as  was  said,  and  believed  at  the  time,  by  the  defeat 
of  Colonel  Dudley's  Regiment,  which  was  seized  upon  by  Mr.  Armstrong, 
then  Secretary  at  War,  to  prove  that  General  Harrison  was  not  a  military 
man.  In  order  to  wound  the  pride  and  self-respect  of  the  General,  and 
force  him  to  resign,  the  secretary  resorted  to  the  most  unprecedented 
and  unmilitary  course  of  conduct ;  such  as  issuing  orders  direct  to  infe- 
rior ofiicers  under  the  command  of  General  Harrison,  and  serving  at  the 
time  in  his  division  of  the  army,  which,  according  to  all  military  rules 
and  precedents,  should  have  come  through  him  as  the  Commander-in- 
Chief. 

No  sufiicient  reason  having  been  given  foi'  this  departure  from 
mihtaiy  usage,  it  eflected  the  purpose  it  was  designed  to ;  for  General 
Harrison,  feeling  that  he  had  been  outraged,  threw  up  his  commission  in 
disgust. 

From  several  sources,  an  attempt  was  made  to  charge  General  Har- 
rison with  extravagance  in  the  expenditure  of  money  during  his  cam- 
paign ;  but  all  such  charges  have  been  so  conclusively  proved  to  have 
been  founded  either  in  error  or  malice,  that  they  have  long  since  passed 
away  and  been  forgotten. 

Public  opinion  at  the  time  fixed  upon  him,  as  most  deserving  of  the 
appointment  of  Commander-in-Chief,  and  which  he  so  richly  merited, 
but  it  was  thwarted  by  the  acts  of  those  high  in  oflace. 

After  a  lapse  of  nearly  thirty  years,  however — in  1840 — the  people  of 
this  Union  arose  in  their  might  and  majesty  to  do  justice  to  the  long 
neglected  veteran ;  then  it  was  that  his  own  young  friend  and  compa- 
nion in  arms  (the  subject  of  this  sketch)  abandoned  for  a  time  his  peace- 
ful and  happy  home,  and  mounted  the  rostrum  in  defence  of  his  old 
commander ;  for,  being  the  only  then  living  witness  cognisant  of  all  the 


WILLIAM    CURISTY,    OF    NEW    OliLEANS,    LA.  383 

facts  connected  with  the  "  Dudley  Defeat,"  he  could  defend  him  (Gen. 
Harrison)  with  truth. 

Colonel  Christy's  first  speech  in  this  cause,  so  dear  to  his  heart,  was 
made  in  the  great  Convention  held  at  the  city  of  Nashville,  a  report  of 
which,  as  published  at  the  time,  has  been  deemed  not  out  of  place  in 
this  memoir,  as  well  on  account  of  its  genuine  simplicity  and  truthful- 
ness, as  being  one  of  the  strongest  testimonials  anywhere  to  be  found,  of 
the  character  and  merits  of  General  Harrison. 

We  are  indebted  to  a  friend  for  a  printed  copy  of  this  speecli,  of  which 
the  reporter  thus  wrote  at  the  time,  to  the  editor  of  the  "  Louisiana 
Advertiser :" — 

"  General  Leslie  Combs  succeeded  Mr.  Grimsby,  and  in  the  course  of 
his  address,  alluded  to  the  fact  of  the  flags  which  were  seen  by  him 
floating  on  the  batteries  of  Fort  Meiggs,  when  he,  as  the  messenger. of 
General  Green  Clay  to  General  Harrison,  was  repulsed  by  the  Indians, 
and  which  enabled  him  to  carry  back  to  Gen,  Clay  the  news  that  the 
fort  had  not  surrendered.  Mr.  Foster,  the  President  of  the  Convention, 
then  introduced  to  the  auditory.  Colonel  William  Christy  of  New  Orleans, 
as  the  identical  soldier  who  nailed  those  banners  to  the  ramparts  by 
order  of  Gen.  Harrison.  This  happy  incident  excited  much  feeling  in 
the  assembly,  and  for  some  minutes  tlie  cheers  and  shouts  of  the  hearers 
prevented  the  speaker  from  proceeding.  Silence  at  length  being  obtained, 
several  demanded  again  the  name  of  the  speaker,  when  Mr.  Foster  intro- 
duced him  a  second  time.  In  less  than  twenty  minutes  the  Colonel 
explained  his  connexion  with  the  matter  of  the  flags,  and  proved  by  his 
evidence,  that  the  orders  given  to  Colonel  Dudley,  and  in  part  disobeyed 
by  that  gallant  but  unfortunate  officer,  ought  to  have  advanced  Gen. 
Harrison  to  the  command  of  the  United  States  army.  I  will  send  you 
a  sketch  of  his  speech  ;  it  was  the  Colonel's  best  eflfort.  There  is  no 
man  in  New  Orleans  who  speaks  more  to  the  point  and  purpose  than 
Col.  Christy :  his  speech  here,  was  precisely  what  it  should  have  been, 
and  that  is  the  highest  compliment  can  be  paid  an  orator. 

"  Col.  Christy's  speech  has  produced  an  excellent  effect  in  Nashville, 
amongst  the  old  supporters  of  Jackson.  As  regards  the  exposition  of 
the  facts  connected  with  the  Siege  of  Fort  Meiggs,  it  is  valuable  in  an 
historical  point  of  view : — it  will  be  published  in  Cincinnati  in  pamphlet 
form,  and  I  feel  satisfied  it  will  do  much  good  wherever  it  is  read." 

"  COLONEL    WILLIAM    CHRISTy's    SPEECH    AT    THE   NASHVILLE    CONVENTION  '. 
BEING  A  VINDICATION  OF  GENERAL  HARRISON. 

'*  Colonel  Christy  addressed  the  Convention  in  substance  as  follows  : — 
"  Friends  and  fellow  countrymen  : — I  crave  your  indulgence  for  a  few 
moments,  assuring  you,  at  the  same  time,  that  I  shall  not  inflict  upon 
you  a  set  speech  at  this  late  hour  (applause),  though  I  do  sometimes 
appear  as  a  speaker  at  home,  in  my  own  humble  way,  on  behalf  of  the 
cause  which  has  brought  us  together  on  this  day. 

"  I  am  happy  to  inform  you  that  my  own  state,  gallant  Louisiana,  has 
redeemed  herself.  She  has  fired  the  morning  gun  in  the  great  contest 
now  pending  between  the  people  and  their  servants,  who  are  ruling  over 
this  bleeding  country,  and  it  is  with  more  than  ordinary  pleasure  that  I 
point  to  the  motto  on  her  banner,  a  banner  which  I  had  the  honor  of 


384  SKETCHES    OF    EMINENT    AMERICANS. 

bearing  in  the  procession,  on  yesterday  : — '  Louisiana ! — to  eacli  of  her 
sister  states,  greeting : — Go  and  do  thou  likewise  !'  (Great  applause). 

"  Some  of  the  allusions  made  by  my  old  compatriot  in  arms,  who  has 
just  preceded  me,  have  brought  me  unexpectedly  before  you  in  the 
attitude  of  an  eye-witness  to  testify  to  some  of  the  facts  which  he  has 
stated  (cheering).  It  is  true,  my  countrymen,  that  I  had  the  honor  of 
being  by  the  side  of  the  hero  of  Tippecanoe,  during  some  of  the  most 
trying  periods  of  his  military  life,  and  I  look  upon  the  present  movement 
as  one  of  the  most  happy  of  my  existence,  that  I  have  been  spared  in 
common  with  a  few  of  my  old  companions  in  arms,  to  be  permitted  to 
stand  forth  to-day,  as  a  living  witness  of  the  skill,  the  patient  endurance 
and  firmness,  the  patriotism  and  the  valor  displayed  by  General  Harrison 
in  times  that  tried  men's  souls  (shouts  of  applause). 

"  It  is  true,  fellow-citizens,  that  when  the  first  gun  was  fired  upon 
Fort  Meiggs  by  the  enemy,  at  the  commencement  of  the  siege,  General 
Harrison  called  me  to  his  side  (for  I  was  acting  quarter-master,  and  had 
charge  of  all  the  public  stores  and  flags),  and  said : — '  Sir, — go  and  nail 
a  banner  on  every  battery,  where  they  shall  wave  as  long  as  an  enemy 
is  in  view !'  (immense  cheering).  I  did  so,  and  with  this  right  hand,  1 
did  nail  a  flag  upon  every  battery,  not  one  of  which  was  struck,  except 
by  the  balls  of  the  enemy,  until  victory  had  perched  upon  them  (tre- 
mendous cheering). 

I  promised,  fellow  citizens,  not  to  make  a  set  speech  (cries  of  '  go  on'), 
but  I  must  take  the  liberty  of  explaining  two  Or  three  facts  connected 
with  the  siege  of  Fort  Meiggs,  and  which  have  not  been,  so  far  as  I  have 
seen,  properly  brought  to  light. 

"  By  the  special  order  of  the  General,  I  was  at  his  side  night  and  day 
during  this  memorable  siege,  and  I  am  proud  to  declare,  in  the  presence 
of  this  great  convention  and  to  the  world,  that  there  was  no  skulking, 
no  shrinking  from  danger  on  his  part  (applause),  but  on  the  contrary,  his 
smiling  and  encouraging  countenance  was  seen  in  every  part  of  the  fort. 
His  addresses  to  the  soldiers,  from  time  to  time,  were  such  as  to  inspire 
the  most  timid  with  confidence  ;  and  his  example  in  braving  danger  such 
as  to  give  courage  even  to  the  coward,  had  one  been  present : — But  to 
the  point. 

''  When  the  messenger  (Lieutenant  Hamilton)  from  General  Clay's 
reinforcement  reached  the  fort,  I  was  present,  and  heard  every  word  that 
passed  between  him  and  the  General.  The  plan  of  attack  for  relieving 
the  fort,  was  tiie  prompt  and  sole  work  of  the  General  himself.  There 
were  British  batteries  on  either  side  of  the  fort,  playing  upon  it  by  cross 
fire ;  the  river  intervening  between  those  on  one  side  and  the  fort,  and 
an  open  plain  between  us  and  the  enemy's  cannon  on  the  other.  The 
General  was  aware  that  the  main  force  of  the  enemy  on  the  opposite 
side  of  the  river  was  encamped  nearly  two  miles  below  his  batteries,  in 
which  there  were  only  men  enough  to  properly  man  the  guns.  He 
therefore  sent  an  order  to  General  Clay,  to  land  Dudley's  regiment  on 
the  opposite  side  of  the  river  from  the  fort,  with  directions  to  storm  the 
enemy's  batteries,  to  spike  and  cut  down  his  cannons,  retreat  to  their 
boats,  and  cross  the  river  immediately  to  the  fort,  which  he  observed  could 
be  done  without  the  loss  of  a  single  man,  and  which  must  be  done,  as  he 
had  no  force  that  could  be  spared  from  the  fort  to  send  to  their  aid  in 


"WILLIAM    CHRISTY,    OF    NEW    ORLEANS,    LA.  385 

case  of  need.  It  was  also  explained  to  the  messenger,  that  a  sortie  would 
be  made  from  the  fort  at  tlu;  same  moment,  and  the  batteries  on  thesido 
of  the  plains  would  be  stormed.  This  was  done  in  the  most  gallant  style. 
Then  it  was  that  the  American  arms  were  completely  victorious  ;  and 
had  Colonel  Dudley  obeyed  the  whole  orders  sent  to  him,  as  was  expected, 
the  5th  May,  1813,  would  have  been  one  of  the  most  glorious  days  in  th« 
military  history  of  the  country,  during  the  last  war.  But  fate  decreed 
otherwise,  at  least  so  far  as  Colonel  Dudley  and  his  gallant  regiment  wero 
concerned  : — for,  after  having  executed  the  orders  of  the  General,  by 
storming  the  batteries  and  spiking  and  cutting  down  the  cannon,  without 
the  loss  of  a  man  ;  the  brave  Dudley  found  himself  incapable  of  drawing 
off  the  impetuous  Kentuckians,  who  had  not  yet  had  an  opportunity  of 
engaging  in  battle.  The  result  was,  such  as  you  all  know  ;  the  total 
defeat  and  capture  of  his  regiment,  by  the  British  troops,  who  had 
marched  up,  after  the  destruction  of  the  batteries,  from  their  camp  below, 
as  was  anticipated  by  General  Harrison  when  he  issued  the  order  for  the 
regiment  to  cross  the  river  by  all  means  immediately  after  executing  their 
work.  It  may  be  well  to  observe  here,  that  victory  had  crowned  tha 
sortie  made  from  the  fort,  before  the  unfortunate  issue  on  the  opposite 
side  of  the  river,  I  am,  perhaps,  the  only  living  witness  who  heard  tho 
General  deliver  his  plans  and  orders  to  Lieutenant  Hamilton,  the  messen- 
.ger.  Everything  was  clearly  explained  :  the  absolute  necessity  of  a 
prompt  retreat,  on  the  part  of  Dudley,  after  spiking  the  enemy's  cannon, 
was  pointed  out.  In  the  energetic  manner  peculiar  to  the  General  him- 
self, he  said  to  Lieutenant  Hamilton  : — '  Tell  your  commander,  that  these 
orders  are  to  be  obeyed,  at  the  hazard  of  his  life  !'     (Great  applause.) 

"I  have  now  shown  you,  fellow  citizens,  that  so  far  as  this  order  was 
obeyed,  victory  was  ours  on  both  sides  of  the  river,  and  the  fort  relieved 
from  the  only  regular  siege  which  took  place  during  the  last  war  ;  and 
relieved,  too,  by  the  exertions  of  an  inferior  force  imder  the  unparalleled 
skill  displayed  by  the  Commander-in-Chief,  in  his  plan,  M'hich  I  have 
tried  to  (-xplain  to  you.  It  has  been  my  fortune,  also,  to  bear  arms  under 
the  celebrated  generals,  Brown  and  Jackson.  I  have  read  something  of 
the  history  of  military  men,  who  have  gone  before  us,  and  so  far  as  my 
feeble  judgment  enables  me  to  decide,  I  challenge  the  historian  to  pro- 
duce, from  the  orders  and  plans  of  Alexander  himself,  of  Marlboro', 
Bonaparte,  Wellington,  or  from  those  of  any  American  Captain,  one 
which,  considering  the  extent  of  it,  displays  more  military  skill  and  judg- 
ment, than  this  of  Gen.  Harrison's,  for  the  relief  of  Fort  Meiggs.  I  will 
here  ask,  what  would  have  .been  the  fate  of  the  Generals  just  named,  if 
they  had  been  held  responsible  for  all  results,  whether  their  orders  were 
obeyed  or  not  ?  The  answer  is  plain  ;  and  yet  General  Harrison  has 
been  arraigned,  and  compelled  to  father  the  responsibility  of  the  act 
which  led  to  the  defeat  of  Dudley — a  responsibility  never  before  required 
of  any  general !  But  whilst  the  miners  and  sappers  of  the  enemy  wero 
unable  to  demolish  the  fort, — defended  by  a  handful  of  men  under  tho 
immediate  command  of  that  great  and  good  man, — there  were  political 
miners  and  sappers  at  the  White  House,  who  seized  upon  the  circum- 
stance to  which  I  haVe  alluded, — disobedience  on  the  part  of  Dudley, — 
as  a  pretext  by  which  they  were  enabled  to  lay  the  hero  of  Tippecanot* 
on  the  shelf  as  a  military  man,  with  a  view  of  advancing  silk  stocking 

VOL,   III.  25 


386  SKETCHES    OF    EMINENT   AMERICANS. 

favorites  !  For  a  time  they  succeeded  in  blinding  the  eyes  of  the  people  ; 
but  the  people  are  at  last  waking  up  in  the  majesty  of  their  power,  to 
render  justice  to  that  much  injured  patriot  and  soldier,  who  should  have 
been  elevated  to  the  Commander-in-Chief  of  the  Army  of  the  United 
States,  for  the  skill  alone  displayed  in  his  order  to  Colonel  Dudley,  if  for 
no  other  cause  !     (Tremendou?  cheering.) 

"  It  is  due  to  myself,  fellow  citizens,  before  I  close,  to  give  a  brief 
explanation  of  the  causes  which  have  placed  me  in  the  position  which  I 
now  occupy.  It  is  well  known  to  many  of  you,  that  I  have  been  a  warm 
supporter  of  General  Jackson  ;  and  that  I  even  voted  for  Mr.  Van  Buren. 
I  am  found  in  the  Whig  ranks  to  day ; — not  that  I  respect  the  less  that 
great  General  and  defender  of  his  country  on  the  plains  of  Chalraette — 
hut  that  I  love  my  country  more.  When  the  first  attack  was  made  upon 
the  currency  of  the  country,  my  fears  were  aharmed  for  the  result.  Effects 
followed  causes  in  rapid  succession,  until  the  only  circulating  medium 
we  had  in  the  country  was  destroyed,  our  commerce  paralysed,  our  rich, 
valuable,  and  productive  fields  were  laid  waste,  and  the  energies  and 
enterprise  of  this  great  people  prostrated  at  the  feet  of  executive  power, — 
a  people  whose  canvas  had  whitened  every  sea,  and  the  impress  of  whose 
footsteps  had  been  seen  iu  every  laud.  Believing  a-s  I  then  did,  and  as 
I  now  do,  that  these  results  were  the  effect  of  a  mistaken  policy  in  the 
administration  of  our  national  affairs,  there  was  but  one  course  left  for 
a  man  of  honor  to  pursue ;  for  one  whe  feels  a  deej)  interest  in  the 
prosperity  of  his  native  land  ;  and  that  course  I  have  adopted — whether 
for  weal  or  for  woe,  time  alone  can  decide.  (Applause.)  I  hold  it  to  be 
the  imperative  duty  of  every  free-born  American  boldly  to  come  forward 
whenever  a  crisis  like  the  present  one  occurs  in  the  practical  affairs  of 
the  country,  and  to  give  his  whole  support  to  the  cause  of  the  people, 
how  feeble  soever  that  support  may  be.  (Cheers.)  And  now,  my 
countrymen,  let  nie  appeal  to  you  with  the  voice  of  one  whose  age  and 
experience  have  entitled  him,  in  your  kind  estimation,  to  be  heard  in  this 
Convention,  to  redouble  your  exertions  in  the  great  contest  before  us, 
with  the  assurance  that  on  your  conduct  will  depend,  in  an  eminent 
degree,  the  success  of  the  cause  under  whose  banners  you  have  enlisted." 

Colonel  Christy  sat  down  amidst  great  cheers,  and  cries  of  "Go  on — 
§0  on." 

On  the  close  of  the  Convention,  Colonel  Christy  left  Nashville  in 
company  with  Mr.  Clay,  Mr.  Crittenden,  and  other  distinguished  politi- 
cians and  public  speakers,  and  by  special  invitation  joined  General 
Harrison  at  his  residence  at  North  Bend,  a  few  days  before  the  General 
was  to  start  upon  his  tour  through  the  State  of  Ohio.  Here  again,  as  at 
Fort  Meiggs,  the  General  desired  him  to  become  his  mere  travelling 
companion,  to  which  the  Colonel  readily  consented  ;  and  in  upwards  of 
one  hundred  speeches,  delivered  in  various  parts  of  the  state,  never  failed 
to  carry  conviction  to  the  minds  of  every  one,  of  the  gi-eat  injustice 
which  had  been  done  his  old  commander. 

On  the  announcement  of  Colonel  Christy's  name  to  address  the  people, 
he  was  always  greeted  with  most  hearty  cheers.  At  the  request  of 
General  Harrison  himself,  he  followed  him  in  his  address  at  the  great 
qaeeting  held  at  Dayton,  Ohio,  at  which  there  were  upwards  of  130,000 
people  assembled.     On  this  occasion  his  speech  was  said  to  be  more  than 


WILLIAM    CHRISTY,    OF    XEW    ORLEANS,    LA.  3ST 

usually  felicitous,  and  without  disparagement  to  others,  was  declared  to 
be  the  most  eflfective  and  eloquent  one  delivered. 

The  result  of  this  campaign  is  familiar  to  all ;  and  General  Harrison 
having  been  elevated  to  tlie  highest  place  in  the  gift  of  any  people  in  the 
world — the  Presidential  chair — mindful  of  his  early  young  friend,  and 
with  a  view  to  avail  himself  of  his  talents  and  firmness,  and  likewise  as 
a  tribute  due  to  the  Colonel  for  eminent  services  rendered  his  country 
and  tl:e  Whig  cause,  tendered  him  the  choice  of  any  office  within  his 
bestowal  as  President  of  the  United  States. 

Flattering  as  was  this  office,  it  was  respectfully  declined,  for  reasons 
which  will  appear  hereafter. 

To  leave  this  somewhat  lengthy  digression  from  the  regular  order  of 
our  narrative,  into  which  we  have  been  led  by  our  defence  of  General 
Harrison,  we  will  resume  the  thread  thereof,  and  endeavor  to  proceed  in 
more  regular  order. 

So  soon  as  the  affair  of  Fort  Meiggs  was  known  at.  Washington  City, 
the  "young  hero,"  as  he  was  familiarly  called,  was  appointed  by  the 
President  a  Lieutenant  in  the  old  1st  Regiment  of  United  States  Infantry. 

After  the  close  of  General  Harrison's  campaign,  which  terminated  with 
the  glorious  victory  of  the  Thames,  Lieutenant  Christy  was  ordered  to 
join  his  regiment  at  Sackett's  Harbor,  where  he  proceeded,  after  having 
nursed,  until  convalescent  and  enabled  to  travel  to  Congress,  his  lamented 
kinsman.  Colonel  R.  M.  .Johnson,  who  had  been  suffering  from  no  less 
than  five  severe  wounds,  received  at  the  battle  of  the  Thames,  where 
with  his  own  hands  he  slew  Christy's  old  foe,  Tecumseh. 

The  campaign  of  General  Harrison  was  brought  to  a  close  by  this 
brilliant  victory. 

Shortly  after,  having  joined  his  i-egiment  at  Sackett's  Harbor,  Christy 
was  appointed  by  General  Brown,  then  in  command  of  that  post,  adju- 
tant to  the  1st  and  23d  regiments,  which  had  been  consolidated.  By 
his  gentlemanly  and  soldierly  bearing,  the  prompt  discharge  of  his 
duties,  and  the  strict  discipline  maintained  in  his  command,  he  soon 
attracted  the  attention  of  his  new  commander,  with  whom  he  speedily 
became  as  great  a  favorite  as  he  had  been  with  his  old. 

About  this  time,  smuggling  to  a  very  great  extent  was  carried  on 
between  Canada  and  the  State  of  New  York,  in  and  around  Ogdensburg, 
and  several  officers,  both  civil  and  military,  who  had  been  dispatched  to 
the  latter  place  to  prevent  these  frauds  upon  the  revenue  of  the  country, 
had  got  into  great  trouble. 

General  Brown,  beirig  determined  if  possible  to  break  up  this  illicit 
trade,  concluded  to  send  down  to  the  scene  of  these  operations  a  detach- 
ment of  men  under  the  command  of  a  skilful  and  prudent  officer,  the 
force  to  be  stationed  at  Ogdensburg.  This  detachment  was  composed 
of  picked  men,  selected  from  the  various  companies  forming  the  regi- 
ment. To  select  the  officer  for  this  command  was  a  matter  of  much 
more  difficulty  than  the  selection  of  the  men  comprising  it;  and  as  the 
duty  was  well  known  to  be  a  responsible  and  perilous  one,  every  platoon 
officer  in  the  fort  was  a  candidate  for  it.  General  Brown,  who  was  an  ex- 
cellent judge  of  both  men  and  officers,  did  not  long  hesitate,  and  his  choice 
fell  upon  Lieutenant  Christy,  who  being  a  comparative  stranger  at  the  fort, 
and  younger  than  most  of  the  others,  the  selection  occasioued  much 


388  SKETCHES    OF    EMINENT    AMERICANS. 

dissatisfaction  and  jealousy;  which  came  near  resulting  in  personal  diffi- 
culties. 

Christy  having  received  his  instructions  and  been  sworn  in  as  an 
Inspector  of  the  Customs,  proceeded  with  his  command  and  took  up  his 
station  at  a  small  village  called  Wilna,  within  a  few  miles  of  Ogdens- 
burg.  This  was  in  mid-winter,  and  snow  upon  the  ground  to  the  depth 
of  five  or  six  feet.  In  order  the  more  fully  to  accomplish  the  purpose 
for  which  he  had  been  detailed,  he  placed  sentinels  at  all  those  points  of 
the  roads  at  which  travellers  had  to  pass  on  account  of  the  great  depth 
of  the  snow;  all  of  whom  were  subjected  to  a  rigid  examination  of  their 
goods  and  baggage.  This  course  did  not  fail  to  create  a  great  deal  of 
excitement  with  all,  and  more  especially  amongst  those  engaged  in  the 
prosecution  of  this  contraband  trade,  and  who  were  generally  men  of 
capital.  The  young  officer,  in  consequence,  soon  found  himself  in 
trouble,  owing  to  the  strict  manner  in  which  he  enforced  his  regulations, 
and  he  was  actually  foi'ced  to  inflict  personal  chastisement  upon  some 
who  had  adopted  an  offensive  insolence  of  conduct  towards  him,  with  a 
view  to  provoke  an  assault,  in  order  to  bring  him  before  a  civil  tribunal 
on  such  a  charge. 

On  this  occurring,  he  refused  to  be  arrested  by  the  civil  authorities, 
until  the  citizens  of  the  place,  to  whom  he  was  a  stranger,  came  forward 
and  oftered  to  become  his  bail,  when  he  submitted,  and  was  accordingly 
admitted  to  bail  in  a  large  sum.  They  did  not,  however,  gain  much  by 
this  annoying  course,  as  upon  a  recurrence  of  such  wanton  conduct,  he 
did  not  hesitate  to  meet  the  occasion  promptly  as  he  had  previously 
done.  Whilst  thus  engaged  in  protecting  the  revenue,  he  made  many 
seizures,  embracing  a  large  amount  of  property,  and  was  still  engaged 
in  the  discharge  of  these  duties,  when  news  that  peace  had  been  made 
was  received  at  head-quarters,  and  he  was  ordered  to  return  to  his  regi- 
ment. During  the  time  he  was  occupied  on  this  special  service,  many 
things  were  constantly  occurring  of  a  character  calculated  to  try  the 
temper,  courage,  talents,  and  honesty  of  a  much  older  officer,  and 
which  it  woutd  be  too  tedious  to  present  here  ;  suffice  to  say,  that 
Christy's  conduct  was  highly  approved  by  General  Brown.  At  the 
spe(iial  term  of  the  Watertown  Court,  young  Christy  appeared,  prepared 
to  defend  himself  against  the  numerous  suits  that  had  been  brought  for 
assault  and  battery,  alleged  to  have  been  committed  at  Wilna  whilst 
engaged  in  the  discharge  of  his  duties.  But  a  single  one  of  these  cases 
came  to  trial,  which,  resulting  in  Christy's  favor,  afforded  the  prose- 
cuting attorney  an  excuse  for  entering  a  nolle  prosequi  in  the  others, 
when  Christy  walked  out  of  coui't  in  full  uniform,  and  was  greeted  with 
three  cheers  by  the  citizens  of  the  place. 

As  we  are  in  possession  of  a  copy  of  the  detachment  orders  issued  by 
voung  Christy  during  this  period,  we  insert  them  as  characteristic  of 
the  since  matured  man. 

"DETACHMENT  ORDERS. 

"  Wtlim,  January  21,  1815. 
"  A  sentinel  will  be  placed   before  the  door  of  Mr.  Steward's  tavern, 
for  the  purpose  of  hailing  all  sleighs,  waggons,  and  carriages,  of  what- 


WILLIAM    CHKISTV,    OF    MOW    ORLEANS,    LA.  389 

ever  kind,  passing  either  way,  and  causing  them  to  stop ;  when  he  will 
immediately  ini'orm  the  commanding  officer  of  the  detachment  of  such 
detention.  This  will  be  done  by  a  regular  detail  made  by  the  Orderlv- 
Sergeant.     He  is  also  to  furnish  morning  reports  of  the  detachment. 

"  No  man  except  the  orderly  is  to  be  seen  more  than  100  yards  from 
the  barracks  without  permission.  The  Orderly-Sergeant  will  be  held 
responsible  for  the  cleanliness  and  good  order  of  the  detachment.  He 
will  see  that  every  man's  arms  and  accoutrements  are  in  complete  firing 
order — furnished  with  a  good  flint,  &c. 

"The  parades  will  take  place  at  12  M.  and  at  tatoo,  when  the  roll 
will  be  called  and  reports  made  thereon. 

"  It  will  be  the  duty  of  the  corporal  to  attend  to  the  placing  and  re- 
lieving of  the  guards. 

'•  The  sentinel  will  hail  all  carriages  passing  after  tatoo,  and  demand 
tlie  countersign ;  which  if  not  given,  he  will  detain  them  and  call  for  the 
corporal  of  tlj^  guard. 

"The  Orderly-Sergeant  will  parade  the  men  at  12  o'clock  M.,  every 
day,  with  arms  and  accoutrements  in  complete  order ;  drill  them  ;  and 
see  that  every  man  is  acquainted  with  his  duty. 

"  The  firing-exercises  will  be  mostly  practised  agreeably  to  Smyth's  in- 
structions ;  and  should  any  man  I'efuse  the  orders  of  the  Orderly-Sergeant, 
he  shall  be  punished  according  to  the  nature  of  his  oftence. 

"  Wm.  Christy, 
'■'•Lieutenant  1st  Regiment, 
"  Commanding  Detachment.^'' 

"  DETACHMENT  ORDERS. 

"  Wilna,  Jan.  28,  1815. 
"  Morning  and  evening  parades  will  be  strictly  attended  to ;  the  roll 
called,  and  arms,  accoutrements,  and  clothing  inspected  at  every  parade. 
The  drill  will  commence  at  11  o'clock  A.  M.,  and  continue  one  liour  each 
day. 

"  It  is  with  regret  that  the  Commanding  Officer  has  to  remind  the  men 
under  his  command,  that  they  are  not  to  wear  their  hats  when  he  enters 
the  room,  and  are  not  to  pass  him  without  saluting  in  the  usual  and  pro- 
per manner. 

"  At  the  same  time  he  can  with  pleasure  assure  them  that  he  feels  him- 
self highly  honored  to  have  the  command  of  men  who,  in  every  other  par- 
ticular, have  discharged  their  duty  with  so  much  promptness  and  soldier- 
like etiquette ;  and  he  hopes  not  again  to  have  to  remind  them,  in  orders, 
of  any  part  of  their  duty.  The  Orderly-Sergeant  will  be  held  account- 
able for  strict  attention  to  the  above  orders. 

"  Wm.  Christy, 
"  Lieut.  \st  Regiment, 
"  Commanding  Detachment.''* 

"DETACHMENT  ORDERS. 

"  Wilna,  Jan.  30,  1815. 
"  One  man  will  be  detailed  weekly  for  a  cook,  who  will  be  held  account- 
able for  the  good  police  of  the  barracks  and  cleanliness  of  the  cooking 


390  SKETCHES    OF    EMINENT    AMERICANS. 

utensils ;  tlic  mess  pans  are  to  be  scoured  immediately  after  each  meal, 
and  placed  bottom  upwards  upon  the  table. 

"  Immediately  after  reveille  every  man  will  put  his  blanket,  and  all  his 
clothing,  except  what  he  has  on,  into  his  knapsack,  which  he  shall  hang 
upon  the  rack  made  for  that  purpose,  and  the  pins  of  which  shall  be 
numbered.  His  gun  and  accoutrements  will  also  be  kept  in  their  proper 
place  agreeably  to  orders.  Any  man  who  is  known  to  eat  his  break- 
last  without  liaving  washed  his  hands  and  face,  shall  be  deprived  of  his 
rations  of  whiskey  for  that  day,  and  the  informer  shall  receive  double 
rations. 

"  No  man  is  to  be  seen  further  from  the  barracks  than  Mr.  Steward's, 
and  the  men  are  not  to  crowd  themselves  into  the  bar-room  without  busi- 
ness calhng  them  there. 

"The  parade-ground  in  front  of  the  barracks  will  be  kept  clean  and 
smooth  for  the  distance  of  ten  paces,  and  all  the  wood  corded  up,  as  it  is 
hauled  in,  against  the  north  end  of  the  barracks.  The  parf  des  and  drills 
will  continue  agreeably  to  the  Order  of  28th  instant ;  and  it  will  be 
the  duty  of  the  Orderly-Sergeant  to  inform  the  Commanding  Officer, 
at  every  parade,  of  what  has  transpired,  and  receive  his  instructions 
thereon. 

"  The  Guard  will  permit  all  cutters  and  sleighs,  which  do  not  appear  to 
be  loaded,  to  pass  towards  Ogdensburg ;  but  will  detain  all  passing  the 
contrary  way,  calling  for  the  corporal  of  the  guard,  who  will  examine 
them  closely.  Should  he  find  any  suspicious  property,  he  will  forthwith 
report,  with  full  particulars,  to  the  Commanding  Officer.  It  will  be  re- 
quired of  the  Orderly-Sergeant  to  pay  strict  attention  to  these  examina- 
tions ;  he  will  likewise  see  that  these  and  all  previous  orders  are  strictly 
enforced,  or  he  will  be  made  accountable  for  his  neglect. 

"  Wm.  Christy, 
"  Lieut.  \st  Regiment^ 
"  Commanding  Detachment^ 

From  these  specimens  of  his  military  orders — being  but  a  boy^ — it  will 
readily  be  seen,  from  the  system  that  pervades  them,  that  he  had  all  the 
elements  of  the  good  officer  in  his  composition. 

The  army  at  Sackett's  Harbor  was  not  disbanded  until  after  the  4th 
July,  1815,  and  the  officers  both  of  the  army  and  navy  at  that  post  de- 
termined to  celebrate  the  anniversary  of  our  Independence  in  an  appro- 
priate manner.  Accordingly  extensive  preparations  were  made  ;  one  of 
the  batteries  having  been  converted  into  a  dining  saloon,  beautifully  and 
appropriately  decorated.  Immediately  in  front  of  this  was  erected  a  high 
rostrum  for  the  orator  of  the  day,  young  Christy,  who  had  been  selected 
by  the  committee  of  arrangements  to  deliver  an  address  suitable  to  the 
occasion.  Here  the  jealousy  of  some  of  his  brother-officers  again  dis- 
played itself  at  the  dinner-table,  which  nearly  resulted  in  bloodshed  ;  for 
Christy  was  forced  to  draw  his  sword,  which,  but  for  the  interference  of 
Commodore  Chauncey,  would  have  been  promptly  used. 

Thus  does  envy,  that  baleful  and  wide-spread  sin,  make  us  often  unjust 
towards  those,  who,  possessing  a  higher  order  of  talent  and  merit  than 
ourselves,  receive  only  their  due  reward  from  the  discerning. 

A  reduction  of  the  army  took  place,  and  it  was  put  upon  a  peace-foot- 


WILLIAM    CHKISTY,    OF    NEW    ORLEANS,    LA.  301 

ing  before  that  division  of  it  stationed  at  Sackett's  Harbor  was  disbanded. 
Of  tlie  regiment  to  which  Christy  was  attached,  he  was  one  of  the  three 
officers  who  were  retained  in  the  army — he  having  been  transferred  to  the 
new  first  regiment  of  infantry,  and  appointed  its  paymaster.  He  was 
forthwith  ordered  to  join  his  regiment  at  New  Orleans,  where  it  was  al- 
ready quai'tered.  In  order  to  do  so,  he  had  to  travel  entirely  by  land, 
and  pass  through  the  several  tribes  of  Indians  occupying  the  country 
between  Nashville  and  Natchez.  He  arrived,  however,  in  safety  at  his 
destination.  New  Orleans  was  at  that  time  included  in  that  division  of 
the  army  under  the  command  of  General  Jackson,  who,  having  heard  of 
the  gallantry  displayed  by  young  Christy  on  repeated  occasions,  soon 
evinced  a  decided  friendship  for  him. 

Hitherto  our  hero  had  proved  himself  of  the  proper  metal  to  meet  the 
shock  of  war ;  but  he  was  now  to  enter  upon  a  held  of  equal  danger,  and 
from  which  his  previous  active  military  life,  during  the  war,  had  in  a 
great  measure  excluded  him.  The  winter  of  1815-16  was,  perhaps,  one 
of  the  gayest  ever  before  witnessed  in  New  Orleans.  Two  circumstances 
contributed  to  make  it  such  ;  it  was  the  first  after  the  Bntish  invasion ;  be- 
sides which.  General  Jackson,  with  many  gallant  officers  of  the  army,  who 
had  so  much  distinguished  themselves  in  various  fields  during  the  war  just 
passed,  were  there  assembled  ;  amongst  whom  we  may  enumerate  Colonel 
Croghan,  General  Sam  Houston,  Governor  Call,  Major  Chotard,  General 
W.  O.  Butler,  together  with  Commodore  Patterson,  Captain  (now  Com- 
modore) McKeever,  Captain  Spedden,  all  of  the  navy,  with  Major  Car- 
mick,  of  the  marine  corps,  Purser  Thomas  Shields,  and  many  others,  the 
names  of  whom  cannot  just  now  be  remembered.  Here,  too,  were  to  be 
found  many  of  the  brave  citizens,  officers,  and  soldiers  who  had  so  fear- 
lessly met  and  defeated  the  enemy,  in  defence  of  the  "  beauty  and  booty" 
of  their  beloved  city. 

In  the  midst  of  such  an  array  of  brave  men,  with  the  addition  of 
lovely  women,  did  young  Christy  find  himself  on  his  arrival  at  New  Or- 
leans ;  and  as  he  had  already  proved  what  tried  men's  souls,  he  was  now 
to  encounter  what  try  men's  hearts.  Beauty,  wit,  and  fashion,  all  com- 
bined and  centred  there  ;  and  considering  the  age  and  disposition  of  our 
young  friend,  it  would  be  expecting  too  much  to  think  for  a  moment  he 
could  pass  through  such  an  ordeal  unscathed. 

The  unbounded  hospitality  so  freely  bestowed  npon  the  brave  men  as- 
sembled in  the  city,  by  the  wealthy  citizens  of  the  place,  together  with  the 
uninterrupted  round  of  pleasures  of  the  season,  was  well  calculated  to  cap- 
tivate the  feelings  of  a  young  man  of  Christy's  impulsive  temperament. 
He  was  fated,  however,  despite  of  all  these  allurements,  to  prove  in  his 
own  person  that  there  is  no  perfect  happiness  on  this  earth. 

The  difficulty  which  all  have  experienced  who  have  had  accounts  to 
settle  with  the  several  departments  of  the  federal  government,  has  grown 
into  a  proverb  ;  and  the  Colonel  was  to  feel  the  truth  of  this  even  at  his 
early  time  of  life.  Christy,  in  his  capacity  of  paymaster  to  his  regiment, 
had  some  misunderstanding  with  the  department  at  Washington  relative 
to  the  manner  of  his  disbursements ;  as  also  in  regard  to  his  rank,  the 
particulars  of  which  would  require  too  much  space  to  explain  here ;  be- 
sides which,  time,  that  true  test,  has  proved  the  young  officer  to  have 
been  correct  in  all  his  transactions  with  the  government,  and  of  which  we 


392  SKETCHES    OF    EMINENT    AMERICANS. 

will  furnish  sufficient  evidence  hereafter,  Christy,  conceiving  that  injus- 
tice had  been  done  him  in  the  matter,  explained  his  situation  to  General 
Jackson,  who  granted  him  leave  to  proceed  to  Washington,  for  which 
place  he  started  at  once,  and  arrived  late  in  June,  1816,  only  to  find  the 
heads  of  departments,  with  whom  his  business  lay,  absent  from  the  city. 
Having  waited  liere  for  several  days  without  being  able  to  accomplish  the 
purpose  for  which  he  had  travelled  so  far,  and  feeling  wearied  and  dis- 
gusted, Avith  some  resentment,  too,  at  the  treatment  he  had  received,  he 
(letermined  to  resign  his  commission ;  although  Mr.  Crawford,  of  the  War 
Department,  otiered  him  a  staff  appointment  then  vacant,  with  the  rank 
and  emoluments  of  a  colonel,  which,  considering  his  youth — for  he  was 
at  this  time  but  twenty-three  years  of  age — may  be  considered  as  highly 
complimentary. 

His  mind  was  made  up,  however,  and  accordingly  on  the  4th  July, 
1816,  he  tendered  his  resignation,  and  exchanged  the  uniform  of  the 
soldier  for  the  plainer  habiliments  of  the  citizen,  by  which  the  army  lost  an 
officer  that  would  have  proved  an  ornament  to  the  country. 

This  was  a  remarkable  epoch  in  the  life  of  the  hero  of  our  sketch, 
which  we  will  now  endeavor  to  abbreviate  as  much  as  possible,  taking  but 
a  cursory  glance  at  what  followed  in  his  career,  and  which  will  not  fail 
to  prove  him  the  remarkable  man  we  announced  him  in  the  commence- 
ment of  this  memoir. 

On  resigning  from  the  army  he  had  formed  no  definite  plans  for  the 
future,  but  he  soon  made  up  his  mind  as  to  the  course  he  should  pursue, 
and  on  the  same  day  we  find  him  on  his  way  to  Philadelphia,  for  the 
furtherance  of  what  he  had  determined  upon.  As  already  mentioned  in 
an  early  part  of  this  sketch,  he  had  many  wealthy  and  influential  friends 
and  relatives  in  the  Western  country,  and  it  occurred  to  him  that  with 
their  aid  he  could  successfully  establish  himself  in  New  Orleans  as  a 
commission  merchant;  his  previous  winter's  residence  there  having  very 
favorably  impressed  him  with  that  city  and  its  society. 

Christy  lost  none  of  his  usual  promptness  in  putting  his  plans  into 
execution,  and  the  following  spring  (1817),  found  him  in  New  Orleans, 
with  coat  off"  and  marking  pot  in  hand,  mounted  upon  tobacco  hogs- 
heads, quite  as  busy  in  his  new  avocation  as  he  had  been  in  his  old  one. 
This  sudden  metamorphosis  of  the  well  dressed  and  somewhat  dandified 
young  officer  to  the  hard  wTji'king  business  man,  naturally  attracted  the 
attention  of  the  large  acquaintance  he  had  formed  whilst  residing  in  the 
city  as  an  army  officer  ;  and  his  untiring  industiy,  assiduity  to  business, 
frank  and  courteous  manners  for  which  he  had  always  been  noted,  soon 
rendered  him  quite  as  popular  as  a  merchant,  as  he  had  been  when  m  the 
army.  All  this,  added  to  his  popularity  in  the  West,  caused,  as  if 
almost  by  magic,  an  immense  business  to  flow  in  upon  him,  to  the 
astonishment  of  the  old  and  long-established  houses  in  the  place.  In 
this  connexion,  we  cannot  refrain  from  I'elating  a  little  incident  which 
occurred  between  young  Christy  and  Mr.  Benjamin  Morgan,  then  one  of 
the  leading  merchants  in  the  city.  Their  counting-rooms  chanced  to  be 
near  each  other,  and  Mr.  Morgan  had  not  failed  to  observe  the  large 
quantities  of  produce  received  by  Christy  from  the  first  opening  of  his 
house;  and  having  been  told  he  was  the  same  young  officer  he  had 
known  a  few  months  previously,  the  old  gentleman  called  into  Christy's 


WILLIAM    CIIRISXV,    OF    NEW    OULEANS,    LA.  393 

counling-room  some  six  weeks  after  lie  had  commenced  business,  and 
addressed  him  as  follows  :  ''  Are  you  the  young  dandy  oflBcer  who  was 
here  last  spring?"  He  received  an  affirmative  answer.  "Are  you  a 
Kentuckian  ?"  continued  he.  "  I  am,"  was  the  rejoinder.  "  1  thought 
so,"  added  the  old  gentleman,  "  for  no  other  state  in  the  Union  can  pro- 
duce such  a  specimen  of  a  young  man  ;  and,  excuse  me,  as  I'm  a  plain- 
spoken  old  man,  but  youHl  do.  Whenever  you  want  any  moiiey  or 
advice,  call  upon  me.     Good  morning,  sir  !" 

The  rapid  increase  in  his  business  determined  Christy  to  associate  with 
himself  some  one  thoroughly  conversant  with  all  the  details  of  commer- 
cial life,  as  he  himself  had  not  had  an  opportunity  of  acquiring  as  full  a 
knowledge  of  it  as  lie  could  wish  to  possess  ;  and  he  according!)  selected 
his  book-keeper,  a  young  gentleman  from  New  York,  who,  from  his 
experience  in  business,  was  well  adapted  for  the  purpose,  and  to  whom 
he  gave  an  interest  in  the  firm  as  a  partner.  Their  united  labors  were 
rewarded  by  unusual  success,  and  before  the  close  of  their  tirst  year's 
business,  they  had  the  agency  of  twelve  sea-going  vessels  and  a  number 
of  steamboats,  besides  their  other  business  as  receivers  of  produce  on 
consignment.  In  short,  the  house  had  established  a  larger  business  and 
credit  than  any  similar  one  that  had  ever  been  in  existence  for  the  same 
period  of  time. 

The  Colonel  thus  finding  his  success  to  have  exceeded  the  most 
sanguine  expectations,  and  with  every  prospect  of  an  increasing  business, 
which  if  attended  to  must  lead  to  fortune,  made  up  his  mind  to  domesti- 
cate himself  permanently  in  New  Orleans,  and,  therefore,  in  January, 
1818,  married. 

After  this  important  step  in  life,  Christy  intrusted  the  interior  mianage- 
raent  of  the  business  of  his  firm  entiiely  to  his  partner,  in  whom  he  had 
the  most  abiding  confidence,  he  himself  attending  exclusively  to  the  con- 
duct of  his  out-door  afi'airs. 

At  the  close  of  the  spring  business  it  was  determined  that  the  Colonel 
should  visit  St.  Louis,  and  the  Western  States  generally,  with  a  view  of 
still  further  extending  their  business,  although  it  had  already  acquired 
an  extent  exceeding  his  hopes  when  he  exchanged  the  sword  for  the  quill. 

A  statement  of  their  afi'airs  was  prepared  by  his  partner — an  accom- 
plished accountant — which,  upon  examination  bv  the  Colonel,  appearing 
all  correct  and  satisfactory,  he  left  on  his  Western  tour,  full  of  happiness 
in  the  present,  and  hope  for  the  future ;  and  feeling,  too,  that  the  day 
was  not  far  distant  when  he  was  to  be  rewarded  for  all  the  trials 
and  hardships  he  had  endured  in  early  life  after  the  death  of  his  parents. 
Another  source  of  happiness  to  his  generous  nature  was  the  thought  that 
he  would,  ere  long,  be  in  a  condition  to  render  independent  his  numerous 
family,  who  yet  looked  to  him  for  support  and  maintenance. 

A  shadow  was  now  to  be  darkly  cast  across  Christy's  hitherto  prospe- 
rous path  in  life.  He  had,  with  all  his  penetration  of  character,  been  the 
dupe  of  his  own  generous  impulses,  which  had  led  him  to  select  his 
former  book-keeper  for  his  partner,  and  was  now  to  contend  with  fraud 
and  corruption  in  all  its  disgusting  phases.  The  absence  of  the  Colonel 
from  the  city  aftbrded  this  partner  an  opportunity  of  completing  the  ruin 
of  the  house,  which  he  had  previously  involved  without  the  knowledge  of 
Christy,  who  had,  as  we  have  already  said,  intrusted  the  whole  of  the 


394  SKETCHES    OF    EMINENT    AMERICANS. 

interior  business  to  him ;  all  this  having  been  clone  to  forward  his  own 
j)rivate  ends  :  the  very  statement  shown  to  the  Colonel  prior  to  his 
departure  having  been  a  false  exhibit  expressly  prepared  to  blind  him  to 
the  ti  ue  state  of  affairs. 

A  brother  of  Christy's,  who  was  a  clerk  in  the  house,  not  hking  the 
turn  things  appeared  to  be  taking,  wrote  to  him,  expressing  his  fears  for 
the  consequences  of  the  change  which  he  observed  in  his  partner's  con- 
duct. This  letter  reached  him  at  St.  Louis,  and  its  contents  fell  like  a 
thunderbolt  upon  him.  The  means  and  fecilities  for  travel  in  those  days 
were  veiy  different  from -what  they  are  at  present,  and  Christy  was 
obliged  to  perform  his  journey  to  Louisville  in  a  small  carriage.  The 
heat  was  oppressive,  the  flies  terribly  bad  upon  his  horses,  and  the 
traveller,  in  a  highly  excited  condition  of  mind,  reached  Louisville  with 
the  sixth  horse,  having  killed  five  on  the  road. 

To  one  possessing  the  confiding  disposition  of  Christy  towards  those  in 
whom  he  trusted,  the  reader  can  imagine  his  sufterings  on  receiving  here 
the  full  confirmation  of  his  jjaitner's  villany.  Action,  however,  as  v/e 
have  all  along  stated,  was  the  Colonel's  forle^  and  the  next  thing  to  bo 
done  was  to  reach  home  as  early  as  possible  ;  so  he  started  from  Louis- 
ville upon  a  small  steamboat,  and  the  river  being  low,  she  got  aground 
near  the  mouth  of  the  Ohio.  The  condition  of  his  mind  was  not  pre- 
pared to  brook  a  delay  of  this  nature,  and  at  ten  o'clock  the  same  night 
he  left  the  steamer  in  an  old  skiff,  with  his  body  servant  and  a  few  days' 
provisions,  to  reach  New  Oileans.  After  suftering  much  from  fatigue  and 
exposure,  he  reached  the  spot  upon  which  now  stands  the  town  of 
Randolph,  but  where  there  then  was  but  a  single  Lulian  hut.  Here  he 
purchased  a  miserable  Lidian  pony,  and  with  but  five  dollars  remaining 
in  his  pocket,  he  started  to  sti-ike  the  Lidian  trail  leading  from  Nashville 
to  Natchez  and  Madisonville,  to  reach  which  he  had  to  ride  120  miles 
through  the  forest — the  sun  and  the  stars  alone  serving  as  his  guide  to 
keep  the  route.  This  he  finally  accomplished  within  two  days,  not, 
however,  without  having  to  procure  another  pony,  as  his  first  had  given 
out ;  and  during  the  entire  time  he  had  no  sleep  except  for  a  few  hours 
under  the  shade  of  a  tree. 

We  omitted  sooner  to  state  that,  on  starting  on  this  part  of  his 
journey — from  the  place  now  known  as  Kandolph — he  was  forced  to 
leave  his  servant  to  reach  home  as  he  best  could. 

When  Christy  reached  the  Lidian  trail,  his  second  pony  being  nearly 
broken  down,  he  met  with  a  horse-dealer  with  a  drove  of  good  horses, 
from  whom  he  purchased  two  on  a  credit ;  these  he  likewise  rode  down, 
and  again  had  to  procure  a  third,  which,  like  the  others,  gave  out  ere 
reaching  Madisonville  (on  the  Chefuncty  river,  which  empties  into  Lake 
Ponchartrain,  opposite  New  Orleans),  where  he  finally  arrived  on  foot, 
having  in  this  journey,  from  the  time  he  left  St.  Louis,  killed  six  horses, 
and  broken  down  five  others.  We  have  followed  him  in  this  journey 
only  to  show  his  indomitable  will  and  perseverance. 

On  arriving  at  home,  he  found  his  late  partner  in  business  on  his  own 
account,  he  having  gone  through  bankruptcy,  after  sacrificing  the  Colonel 
in  the  most  ungrateful  manner.  Christy's  first  impulse  was  to  expose 
and  personally  punish  the  ingrate,  from  which,  however,  he  was  dis- 
suaded by  his  family  and  friends. 


WILLIAM    CHRISTY,    OF    NEW    ORLEANS,    LA.  395 

Here,  then,  was  a  fresh  start  in  the  world  to  be  taken,  after  this  bitter 
lesson.  With  means  gone,  credit  destroyed,  and  additional  obligations 
resting  upon  him,  what  could  this  young  man,  with  even  the  vigorous 
mind  and  energy  of  character  which  we  have  described  him  as  possessing, 
hope  to  do  for  the  support  and  education  of  the  large  family  he  had  to 
care  for  ?  But  with  Christy  there  was  no  hesitation,  no  delay ;  he 
resolved  upon  renewing,  after  so  great  a  lapse  of  time,  the  study  of  the 
law.  He  applied  himself  diligently,  and  was  admitted  to  practice  in  the 
courts  as  an  attorney.  So  quietly  had  the  Colonel  prosecuted  his  studies, 
that  on  his  tirst  appearance  in  court,  the  whisper  passed  around  amongst 
the  members  of  the  bar,  "Where  and  when  did  Christy  study  law?" 
accompanied  with  other  equally  ill-natured  remarks,  shrugs  and  smiles  of 
derision.  Our  now  young  lawyer  kept  his  penetrating  eye  upon  them, 
watching  an  opportunity  to  resent  their  half  implied  insults.  Ere  long, 
in  the  course  of  his  practice,  opportunities  did  not  fail  to  occur  for  him 
to  force  apologies  from  some  of  the  older  members  of  the  bar  for  disre- 
spectful conduct  towards  him.  Nor  was  he  long  in  atlbrding  ample 
evidence  that  he  had,  indeed,  studied  law  somewhere  and  at  some  time, 
if  unknown  to  them.  In  his  new  profession,  as  in  all  else  he  had  under- 
taken, he  was  soon  successful ;  for  his  powers  of  eloquence,  which  with 
constant  practice  now  developed  themselves,  together  with  his  accustomed 
industiy  and  close  application,  very  soon  enabled  him  to  acquii-e  a 
respectable  law  business ;  and  in  less  than  two  years  from  his  admission 
to  the  bar,  he  had  as  much  practice  as  he  could  attend  to,  notwithstanding 
the  assiduity  with  which  he  devoted  himself  to  the  interests  of  his  clients. 

In  addition  to  his  other  labors,  in  1826  he  compiled  and  published  the 
first  Digest  of  the  Decisions  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  State  of  Louis- 
iana, known  as  "  Christy's  Digest ;" — a  work  which  was  acknowledged 
to  have  been  ably  prepared,  and  ^^'hich  proved  extremely  useful  to  the 
profession  generally  ;  and  as  an  evidence  of  the  estimation  in  which  it  was 
held  by  the  Legislature  of  the  State,  by  a  special  act,  the  Governor  was 
authorized  to  purchase  100  copies  for  the  use  of  the  several  courts  through- 
out the  State,  and  for  which  the  compiler  received  the  sum  of  $800. 

In  1827  he  received  from  the  Governor  of  the  State  an  appointment  as 
Notary  Public,  an  office  of  the  highest  responsibility  and  importance  under 
the  civil  law  by  which  Louisiana  is  governed ;  and  which  he  continued  to 
hold  until  a  few  years  since,  when  Governor  Walker,  in  a  spirit  of  pro- 
scription, made  the  office  a  political  one  by  depriving  nearly  every  whig 
who  held  the  commission  of  Notary  Public. 

It  was  not  surprising  that  with  his  knowledge  of  the  law  and  strict 
attention  to  all  business  intrusted  to  his  charge,  he  should  soon  find  him- 
self almost  overrun  with  notarial  work. 

Several  years  pieviously  (in  1823)  he  had  been  elected  an  Alderman 
from  the  First  Ward  of  the  city  of  New  Orleans,  comprehended  between 
Caual  and  Custom-House  streets,  at  which  period  none  but  the  most 
respectable  and  influential  citizens  were  selected  for  the  responsible  duties 
of  the  City  Fathers;  and  it  is  a  matter  of  great  regret  that  such  judicious 
selections  do  not  continue  to  be  made  in  our  day,  as  well  in  New  Orleans 
as  in  other  cities  of  the  L'^nlon. 

In  the  City  Council,  as  in  every  other  position  of  importance  which  he 
had  occupied,  he  became  one  of  the  most  zealous,  useful,  and  leading 


396  SKETCHES    OF    EMINENT    AMERICANS. 

inembers  of  that  body.  He  was  the  originator  and  advocate  of  nearly  all 
the  most  useful  and  important  improvements  of  the  times ;— such  as  the 
paving  and  lighting  of  the  city,  and  supplying  it  with  water,  the  credit  of 
which  has  b-^en  improperly  ascribed  to  others.  It  was  Colonel  Chiisty 
that  first  proposed  the  introduction  of  the  square  stone  pavements,  now 
become  so  popular,  and  not  another  gentleman,  as  has  been  claimed  by 
his  friends ;  and  in  order  to  practically  advocate  this  system  of  paving,  as 
superior  to  all  others,  he  actually  went  to  the  West,  and  at  a  _  heavv 
expense  procured  the  necessary  material  with  which  he  had  a  portion  of 
Gravier  street  paved  as  an  experiment ;  and  this  very  pavement  was  in 
constant  use  in  the  business  part  of  the  city  for  upwards  oi  tiventy  years, 
without  requiring  any  repairs.  Despite  of  this  evidence  of  its  superiority 
to  all  others,  such  was  the  prejudice  existing  in  favor  of  the  round  stones, 
on  the  score  of  present  economy,  that  the  Colonel  failed  to  carry  through 
tliis — one  of  his  favorite  schemes  for  the  improvement  of  the  city,  by 
which  millions  might  have  been  saved  to  the  city  had  his  co-laborers 
kept  pace  with  him  in  the  march  of  mind  and  improvement. 

After  having  served  his  constituents  for  upwards  of  ten  years  in  the 
Council,  the  increase  of  his  double  business — that  of  lawyer  and  notary — 
became  so  great  as  to  compel  him  to  resign  his  post  as  Alderman,  in 
Avhich  he  was  succeeded  by  Samuel  J.  Peters,  a  gentleman  who  has  also 
fio-ured  conspicuously  in  the  history  of  the  city  of  New  Orleans. 

The  Colonel  was  now  on  the  tide  to  fortune,  and  he  was  ever  foremost 
to  lend  his  fostering  aid,  whether  by  subscription  or  his  personal  attention, 
to  all  enterprises  having  for  their  object  the  public  good.  He  was  hberal 
and  charitable  to  a  fault ; — for  which  characteristics  he  is  still  celebrated, 
as  his  hand  and  purse  are  never  closed  against  the  needy ;  popular  and 
beloved  by  all  who  know  him  well ;  and  prior  to  the  crash  of  1837  he 
had  accumuLated  a  fortune  estimated  at  upwards  of /oMr  AM?ic?rec?  tliou- 
miid  dollars. 

Thus  had  he  accomplished  his  declaration,  made  when  a  boy  of  four- 
teen, that  "  he  would  rise  to  distinction  and  fortune." 

But  fortune  is  unstable  ; — for  Colonel  Christy,  in  common  with  many 
other  great,  good,  and  liberal-minded  men,  espoused  the  cause  of  Texas  in 
her  early  struggle  for  independence,  which  ultimately  cost  him  the  greater 
part  of  liis  fortune,  and  subjected  him  to  much  trouble  and  inconvenience 
at  a  later  day. 

It  is  generally  known  that  Colonel  Christy  has  claims  for  large  tracts 
of  land  in  the  State  of  Texas,  but  how  he  became  possessed  of  these,  and 
of  what  nature  they  are,  is  not  so  well  understood — most  persons  being 
under  the  impression  that  they  are  founded  upon  grants  from  the  former 
Republic  of  Texas  as  a  reward  for  the  valuable  aid  he  aftbrded  them  in 
their  darkest  hour  of  adversity.  This  opinion  is  t;ir  from  correct,  as  we 
shall  show  the  reader. 

So  far  from  the  late  Republic  of  Texas  (or,  indeed,  the  present  State 
formed  out  of  it)  having  in  any  manner  reimbursed  him  for  his  very  great 
outlay  of  money,  or  in  any  manner  rewarded  him  for  his  own  personal 
exertions  in  her  cause,  which  contributed  so  largely  towards  enabling  the 
country  to  bring  its  struggle  to  such  a  successful  and  happy  issue  ;  they 
repaid  him  only  in  the  coin  so  proverbially  current  in  all  republics — ingra- 
titude ;  as  we  will  make  fully  appear. 


WILLIAM    CHRISTY,    OF    NEW    ORLEANS,    LA.  397 

Colonel  Christy  had  become  by  purchase  the  owner  of  large  tracts  of 
land  in  Texas  ;  and  tinding  subsequently  that  by  the  newly-adopted  consti- 
tution of  tlie  then  republic,  he,  in  common  with  all  foreigners,  was  pro- 
hibited from  holding  real  estate  in  the  country,  unless  he  derived  his  title 
directly  from  the  government  itself,  he  attended  the  meeting  of  the  first 
Congress  of  the  republic  which  assembled  after  the  battle  of  San  Jacinto, 
for  the  purpose  of  procuring  the  passage  of  an  act  to  enable  him  to  hold 
or  sell  these  lands,  honestly  purchased  with  his  own  money,  as  we  Lave 
said. 

This  was  a  thing  simple  enough  in  itself,  and  only  what  had  been  ac- 
corded to  many  others  ;  but  in  his  case  it  was  refused  by  a  solemn  vote 
of  Congress,  and  for  the  following  reasons,  as  gravely  set  forth  in  a  speech 
delivered  by  one  honorable  Senator,  who,  in  opposing,  this  bill,  used  the 
following  language  : — 

"  Mr.  President, — I  acknowledge  that  we  owe  our  independence  more 
to  Colonel  Christy,  for  his  money  and  intluence,  than  to  any  other  person 
living  ;  and  yet,  sir,  I  oppose  this  bill,  because  he  has  the  President  at  his 
back." 

To' explain  such  extraordinary  language  as  the  above,  we  will  merely 
remark  that  General  Sam.  Houston  had  just  been  elected  President  of  the 
republic,  and  was  in  favor  of  the  passage  of  the  bill ;  regarding  it  a 
mere  act  of  common  justice  to  Colonel  Christy.  The  bill,  however,  was 
lost ;  and  the  Colonel  left  the  country  shortly  after  this  in  disgust. 

Not  only  have  the  Legislatures  of  the  republic — and  the  since  State  of 
Texas — never  asked  what  he  had  expended  in  the  cause  of  her  indepen- 
dence, but  he  has  even  never  been  complimented  by  a  vote  of  thanks  for 
all  he  had  done  and  sutfered  in  her  behalf;  thus  affording,  as  has  been 
remarked,  another  illustration  of  the  ingratitude  of  republics. 

In  striking  contrast,  however,  with  the  conduct  of  the  Texan  govern- 
ment, and  as  an  evidence  of  the  estimation  in  which  Colonel  Christy's  ex- 
ertions in  the  cause  of  Texan  independence  were  viewed  by  many  of  the 
gallant  officers  of  the  army,  who  fought  the  decisive  battle  of  San  Jacinto, 
we  insert  a  letter  from  the  latter  to  General  Sam.  Houston,  the  Comman- 
der-in-Chief of  the  Army,  at  the  time.     Here  it  is  : — 

"  Camp  near  San  Jacinto, 
"  3d  May,  1836. 
"  To  Major-General  Sam.  Houston, 

"  Commander-in-Chief  of  the  Army  : 
"  Sir, — We  the  undersigned  officers  of  the  army  of  Texas,  under  your 
command,  beg  leave  through  you  to  present  to  William  Christy,  Esq.,  of 
New  Orleans,  a  saddle  and  bridle,  said  to  have  belonged  to  Colonel  Cos, 
and  taken  at  the  battle  of  San  Jacinto,  on  the  21st  April,  and  to  assure 
him  of  our  heartfelt  gratitude  towards  him,  for  the  zeal  used  by  him  in 
our  favor  during  our  darkest  days. 

"  We  have,  sir,  the  honor  to  be, 

"  Your  obt.  servants, 
"  S.  Sherman,  Col.  2d  Regt.  Hayden  Arnold,  Capt. 

"Jos.  L.  Bennett,  Lieut.  Col.  2d  Regt         Tnos.  H.  McIntyre,  Capt. 
"  Ltsaxder  Wells,  Major  "  James  Gillespie,  " 

"  ROBT.  McNuTT,  "  \st    "  A.  H.  Weyley,  " 

'*  RicHD.  Roman,  Capt.  Company  B.  W.  W.  Hill,  ** 


t398  SKETCHES    OF    EMINENT    AMERICANS. 

"  \Vm.  Ware,  Capt.  E.  S.  Joxes,  Lieut. 

"J.  B.  CnAXCE,   "  N.  H.  Durham,  " 

"A.  S.  Lewis,     "  B.  J.  Harper,    " 

"J.  N.  Moreland,  Capt.  1st.  Regt.  Art.  B.  S.  Kdykendall,  Capt. 

"  Geo.  W.  Poe,  "  "  "  David  Murpiiree,  Commandt.  Comp.  E. 

"He.mit  Millard,  Lieut.  Col.  of  Infantry.  Joun  P.  Borden,  Lieut. 

"J.  M.  Allex,  Major  of  Infantry.  Jesse  Billingsley,  Capt. 

"  Henry  Teal,  Capt.  of  Infantry.  J.  W.  Robinson." 

"NicHs.  Lynch,  Adjutant      " 

With  the  exception  of  the  compliment  paid  him  by  these  brave  men, 
who  knew  how  to  api)reciate  services  so  heartily  rendered,  the  Colonel 
was  fated  to  meet  with  only  ingratitude  on  every  hand  in  Texas.  At  the 
time  of  his  visit  to  the  country  Santa  Anna  was  still  confined  a  prisoner, 
near  a  cotton  farm  purchased  by  Christy. 

Every  exertion  made  up  to  this  time  for  the  release  of  this  distinguished 
prisoner  had  failed ;  and  from  the  2)roximity  of  his  place  of  confinement 
to  the  Colonel's  residence,  the  latter  called  upon  him  daily,  and  they  thus 
became  intimately  acquainted  with  each  other.  This  aftbrded  the  Colonel 
many  opportunities  of  manifesting  his  generous  impulses,  as  Santa  Anna 
was  at  that  moment  in  destitute  circumstances,  and  everything  was,  of 
course,  very  high  in  a  country  where  provisions  Avere  hard  to  procure  even 
for  money. 

In  obtaining  his  final  release,  too,  he  perhaps  owed  more  to  the  untir- 
ing exertions  and  influence  of  Colonel  Christy,  for  bringing  about  this 
result,  than  to  any  other  cause  whatever. 

The  fetters  were  no  sooner  stncken  from  his  (Santa  Anna's)  limbs,  than 
he,  together  with  his  aide-de-camp.  General  Almonte  (now  Minister  to 
the  United  States  from  Mexico),  was  taken  to  Christy's  house,  and  there 
provided  by  the  Colonel,  at  his  own  individual  expense,  with  horses,  and 
everything  requisite  for  himself  and  entire  suite — or  guard — which  accom- 
panied him  to  Louisiana,  where  it  was  considered  his  life  would  no  longer 
be  in  danger  from  the  relations  and  friends  of  those  of  Fanning's  detach- 
ment who  had  been  so  cruelly  and  treacherously  murdered  at  Goliad,  by 
order  of  Santa  Anna. 

The  expenses  of  this  outfit,  and  the  supplying  the  daily  wants  of  this 
modern  Napoleoyi.^  as  he  now  delighted  to  cah  himself,  for  a  period  of 
three  months,  amounted  in  the  aggregate  to  a  very  considerable  sum. 
All  this,  together  with  the  many  other  obligations  of  a  personal  character, 
for  which  he  Avas  indebted  to  Colonel  Christy,  was  well  known  to  the  dis- 
tinguished recipient  of  them,  and  at  parting  he  was  profuse  in  expressions 
of  lasting  gratitude  to  his  benefactor,  for  all  his  kindnesses ;  but  it  ended 
Avith  this,  as  the  Colonel  has  never  since  heard  from  General  Santa  Anna 
personally  in  any  manner. 

The  troubles  which  Colonel  Christy  brought  upon  himself  by  espousing 
the  cause  of  Texan  Independence  were  not  yet  at  an  end. 

The  expedition  to  Tampico,  uoder  command  of  General  Mejia,  and 
which  proved  a  failure,  owing  to  the  cowardice  of  some  of  his  men,  who 
were  taken  prisoners,  and  shot,  was  generally  supposed  to  have  originated 
with  and  been  set  on  foot  by  Colonel  Christy.  These  cowardly  wretches, 
after  losing  all  hope  of  pardon,  resorted  to  a  miserable  artifice  in  the  des- 
perate hope  of  preserving  their  worthless  lives.  This  was  to  write  a 
number  of  letters  to  their  friends  in  the  United  States,  setting  forth  that 


•  -WILLIAM    CHIUSTY,    OF    NEW    ORLEANS,    LA.  399 

they  had  been  deceived  by  Colonel  Christy,  or  they  would  never  have 
joined  the  expedition.  These  letters  they  well  knew  would  be  read  by 
tbe  Mexican  authorities,  whose  pity  they  hoped  thus  to  arouse,  and  there- 
by possibly  obtain  a  pardon  ;  but  they  missed  their  aim,  and  died  like 
cowards,  with  lies  upon  their  tongues.  These  letters,  however,  reached 
their  several  destinations,  and  were  published  and  commented  upon  in 
several  papers  of  the  Union. 

General  Jackson,  then  President,  was  urged  by  these  publications  to 
cause  Colonel  Christy  to  be  prosecuted  under  the  act  of  1818 — as  Gene- 
ral Lopez  subsequently  was  for  his  complicity  with  the  Cardenas  afl'air. 
Accordingly  tlie  United  States  District  Attorney  at  New  Orleans  was 
instructed  by  the  President  to  institute  an  inquiry  into  the  matter,  and 
the  Colonel  was  notified  to  appear  before  one  of  the  city  Judges — acting 
as  an  examining  magistrate — to  answer  to  the  charge  of  having  violated 
the  provisions  of  the  above  cited  act.  At  this  preliminary  examination, 
more  than  twenty  witnesses  were  produced  on  the  part  of  the  prosecu- 
tion, from  whom  nothing  was  elicited  to  justify  the  charges  set  forth 
against  the  Colonel ;  who  on  the  contrary,  in  the  course  of  his  cross- 
examination  of  these  witnesses, — for  he  appeared  in  Court  accompanied 
by  at  friend,  and  conducted  his  own  defence, — established  his  entire  inno- 
cence of  the  allegations  made  by  his  enemies.  He  likewise  proved  most 
conclusively  by  this  cross-examination,  for  he  did  not  introduce  a  single 
witness,  that  so  far  from  his  having  in  any  manner  aided  in  practising 
any  deception  upon  those  unfortunate  men,  he  on  the  contrary  warned 
every  man  who  joined  the  expedition  of  the  hazardous  nature  of  it,  and 
of  the  risk  to  run :  and  it  was  further  proved,  that  in  a  public  speech 
made  by  the  Colonel  on  the  very  day  of  the  embarkation  of  this  expedi- 
tion for  Tampico,  he  distinctly  informed  them  of  the  danger  they  were 
about  to  encounter ;  and  that  if  they  failed  in  their  attempt  and  were 
taken  prisoners,  they  would  be  treated  as  pirates  and  shot.  The  pre- 
ponderance of  testimony  going  to  show  that  the  Colonel  had  been  grossly 
slandered  by  the  unhappy  writers  of  the  letters  referred  to  was  so  con- 
clusive, and  the  signal  failure  of  the  prosecution  to  establish  a  single 
specification  of  the  charges  against  him,  that  the  Judge  honorably  dis- 
charged him — refusing  to  send  the  case  before  the  United  States  District 
Court  for  trial. 

This  prosecution  has  long  since  been  printed  in  pamphlet  form,  and 
made  public,  and  shows  for  itself.  The  Colonel  is  believed  to  have  been 
the  first  one  prosecuted  under  the  provisions  of  the  Act  of  Congress  of 
1818  referred  to. 

As  an  instance  of  that  noble  liberality  which  has  ever  distinguished 
him — making  him  a  public  benefactor — we  will  relate  an  incident  that 
occurred  in  1833,  as  strongly  characteristic  of  the  man.  From  overwork 
for  a  series  of  years,  he  had  somewhat  impaired  his  health,  although 
possessing  a  naturally  robust  constitution,  and  with  a  view  to  resist  it, 
started  for  Canada  via  the  West.  On  arriving  at  Kentucky,  he  found 
his  eldest  sister,  who  had  married  a  man  of  ample  means,  but  which  he 
had  entirely  squandered  by  a  life  of  dissipation,  upon  what  proved  to  be 
her  death-bed — literally  dying  of  a  broken  heart.  The  Colonel's  quick 
eye  saw  everything  at  a  glance,  and  believing  that  his  sister  would  sur- 
vive until  his  return  in  the  Fall,  pursued  his  travels  northward.    The 


400  SKETCHES    OF    EMINENT    AMERICANS. 

object  of  his  tour  having  been  hcappily  accomplished,  in  the  restoration 
of  his  health,  on  leaving  for  home  he  visited  the  City  of  New  York, 
where  he  purchased  a  library  of  choice  and  valuable  works,  together 
with  ail  the  philosophical  and  astronomical  apparatus  requisite  for  the 
establishment  of  a  hrst  class  academy  of  learning.  These  he  had  for- 
warded to  Burlington,  Kentucky,  then  the  county  town  of  his  former 
residence :  he  liad  not  forgotten  the  v/ant  of  good  schools,  which  he, 
in  common  with  others,  had  experienced  in  his  early  years  when  strug- 
gling with  privation  and  poverty ;  nor  the  difBculties  which  he  himself 
encountered  in  his  burning  thirst  after  knowledge.  He  returned  to  Ken- 
tucky in  time  to  close  the  eyes  of  his  dying  sister,  and  take  charge  of 
her  eight  orphan  children,  for  such  they  shortly  proved,  as  their  father 
survived  his  sacrificed  wife  but  a  short  time.  A  few  weeks  sufficed  the 
Colonel  to  establish  one  of  the  best  academies  in  the  state  for  the  educa- 
tion of  children  of  both  sexes ;  which,  having  provided  with  teachers — 
male  and  female — of  the  highest  attainments,  he  here  placed  his  eight 
little  kindreds,  surrounded  by  every  comfort,  to  receive  such  an  educa- 
tion as  would  fit  them  for  any  society,  and  render  them  ornaments  to 
the  state  and  the  country.  This  academy  was  thrown  open,  free  of 
charge,  to  all  the  neighboring  population  who  might  see  fit  to  embrace 
the  opportunity  thus  presented  for  the  education  of  their  children.  In 
this  and  other  ways  he  expended  upwards  of  $25,000  on  the  family  of 
his  sister :  yet  such  are  the  mysterious  ways  of  Providence,  that  but  two 
out  of  the  eight  survived  to  thank  him  for  his  fatherly  care  of  them. 

If  he  who  causes  two  blades  of  grass  to  grow  where  but  one  flourished 
before,  may  be  deemed  a  benefactor  of  mankind,  how  much  more  so 
may  the  Colonel  be  considered  such  for  having  founded  this  school  where 
none  such  before  existed :  and  had  he  never  performed  any  other  good 
to  society,  this  one  generous  act  alone  would  render  his  name  worthy  of 
a  place  in  history : — it  was,  however,  but  one  out  of  many  others  of  a 
kindred  nature. 

Among  other  useful  and  benevolent  acts  of  Colonel  Christy  whilst  an 
alderman,  was  the  originating  and  successfully  establishing  that  humane 
and  charitable  institution,  the  Male  Orphan  Asylum  of  Lafayette  (now 
the  fourth  district).  It  was  he  alone  who  first  conceived  the  idea,  and 
upon  his  own  responsibility  raised  by  private  subscription  the  fimds 
necessary  to  purchase  the  beautiful,  and  now  valuable  property  upon 
which  the  Asylum  is  located,  and  to  start  it  into  full  operation.  Again, 
by  himself,  did  he  procure  the  subscriptions  to  defray  its  annual  ex- 
penses. Colonel  Christy  was  the  man  who  voluntarily  superintended 
the  work  of  the  chain-gang  in  converting  the  old  Sugar  House  of  the 
late  Commodore  Rousseau  into  the  Asylum  for  the  Orphans,  and  laid  off" 
and  improved  the  surrounding  grounds:  in  short, it  is  to  him  more  than 
to  any  others  the  orplum  inmates  of  that  asylum  owe  their  gratitude  for 
such  a  home.  'Tis  true  that  the  names  of  many  others  appear  in  the 
final  organization  of  the  establishment ;  but  Colonel  William  Christy  was 
the  originator  and  only  actor  in  the  whole  matter,  atits  commencement,  and 
hence,  "  honor  to  whom  honor  is  due."  Some  years  later,  his  business 
requiring  his  whole  time  and  attention,  he  resigned  his  seat  in  the  Board 
of  Directors  of  this  Institution,  worthy  of  a  Howard  to  have  conceived. 
The  above  recited  facts  are  still  remembered  by  a  few  of  the  survivors  of 


WILLIAM    CHRISTY,    OF    NEW    ORLEANS,    LA.  401 

the  first  board  of  directors  ;  nevertheless,  the  public  at  large  are  under  a 
misapprehension  as  to  the  true  projectors  of  the  Lafayette  Male  Orphan 
Asylum. 

Colonel  Christy,  as  was  to  have  been  expected  from  his  enterprising 
character  and  liberal  disposition,  having,  as  before  stated,  amassed  a  very 
handsome  fortune,  was  never  averse  to  joining  his  friends  in  extensive 
operations,  of  both  a  business  and  a  speculative  character ;  and  the  feel- 
ing of  the  times,  and  the  facility  with  which  men  of  ample  means  could 
obtain  money  for  such  purposes,  only  rendered  it  the  more  difficult  for 
men  of  even  the  most  prudent  judgment  to  keep  aloof  from  the  desire 
of  speculation  which  seemed  to  have  seized  upon  all. 

But  the  ides  of  March  arrived,  and  on  the  day  after  the  memorable 
4th  of  that  month,  1S37,  in  the  general  crash  that  took  place,  he  found 
himself,  from  circumstances  that  were  both  unlocked  for  and  entirely 
beyond  his  control,  a  loser  to  the  extent  of  at  least  $100,000. 

On  the  evening  of  this  4th  of  March,  the  Colonel  gave  one  of  the 
most  remarkable  exhibitions  of  both  nerve  and  philosophy  that  was 
perhaps  ever  met  with  under  similar  circumstances.  He  was  well  aware, 
from  the  vast  numbers  of  protests  of  the  principal  merchants  of  the  place, 
many  of  whom  were  his  personal  friends,  and  others  again  connected 
with  himself  in  some  business  operations,  that  he  was  bound  to  be  a 
heavy  sufterei' ;  and  yet  despite  of  this,  he  continued  in  his  office  engaged 
with  six  clerks  the  entire  night  preparing  protests  of  the  day,  and  yet 
not  one  of  these  young  men  for  a  moment  suspected  the  shock  had  fallen 
so  heavily  upon  him. 

The  losses  thus  incurred,  added  to  the  very  large  suras  expended  by 
him  in  the  Texan  cause,  embarrassed  the  Colonel  seriously,  but  he  deter- 
mined to  struggle  through  it  if  possible,  and  not  suffer  the  mortifying 
alternative  of  having,  in  common  with  so  many  of  his  friends,  to  become 
bankrupt.  He  did  struggle  on,  and  sustained  himself  until  the  beginning 
of  the  year  1840,  when  from  the  heavy  sacrifices  he  had  been  compelled 
to  make  in  order  to  sustain  himself  so  long,  he  too  was  forced  to  suc- 
cumb to  circumstances  ;  and,  making  a  surrender  of  his  property,  he 
went  into  bankruptcy,  receiving  the  heartfelt  sympathy  of  all  his  friends 
and  acquaintances. 

At  the  first  meeting  of  his  creditors  he  was  chosen  one  of  the  syndics 
in  connexion  with  Mr.  M'Goifin,  the  other,  who  having  declined  serving, 
at  a  second  meeting  Christy  was  elected  sole  syndic  of  his  estate ;  the 
usual  security  in  such  cases  was  waived,  and  he  was  fully  authorized  to 
act  discretionally  in  all  matters  appertaining  to  the  settlement  of  the 
estate.  His  creditors  further  gave  him  an  honorable  discharge — all,  save 
one  or  two,  who  being  corporate  bodies,  had  not  the  legal  power  to  grant 
him  an  acquittance.  He  is  now  in  possession  of  an  order  of  the  Court, 
by  W'hich  he  himself,  and  all  the  future  property  he  might  acquire,  are 
fully  protected  against  the  payment  of  any  of  his  previous  debts,  beyond 
the  amount  realized  fi-om  the  sale  of  his  property  surrendered.  The  con- 
fidence reposed  in  him  by  his  creditors,  he  felt  as  the  highest  compliment, 
and  he  resolved  to  renew  his  obligations  for  such  of  his  liabilities  as  he 
considered  having  a  preference  over  others,  and  which  he  carried  into 
execution. 

His  professional  business  fortunately  continued  as  prosperous  as  ever, 

VOL.  in.  26 


402  SKETCHES    OF    EMINENT    AMERICANS. 

and  he  applied  himself  to  the  discharge  of  his  duties  as  diligently  as  of 
yore,  by  which  means  he  has  been  enabled  to  pay  off  ttvo  hundred 
thousand  dollars  of  these  voluntarily  assumed  obligations ;  thus  as  it 
were  becoming  his  own  creditor. 

He  constantly  refused  to  sell  at  a  sacrifice  his  large  landed  interests  in 
Texas,  which,  as  we  have  previously  shown,  were  based  upon  purchases 
made  with  his  own  money,  and  were  not — we  repeat  for  the  information 
of  those  who  have  thought  differently — for  grants  from  the  late  republic 
or  present  State  of  Texas.  The  wisdom  of  this  course  is  now  being  made 
manifest,  for  he  is  about  to  get  possession,  under  a  recent  decision  of  the 
Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States,  of  all  the  lands  embraced  in  his 
entire  claims,  and  estimated  to  be  worth  over  half  a  million  dollars. 
These  lands  having  been  settled  upon,  and  occupied  by  persons  without 
any  kind  of  titles  whatsoever,  suits  of  ejectment  had  been  brought  in  the 
Texas  Courts,  and  it  is  upon  these  suits  that  the  decision  of  the  Supreme 
Court  of  the  United  States  has  been  given. 

When  the  decision  reached  New  Orleans  there  was  but  one  expression 
of  feeling  amongst  the  Colonel's  numerous  circle  of  friends  and  acquaint- 
ances, and  that  was  of  hearty  rejoicing  at  his  good  fortune.  Thus  is  the 
old  soldier,  patriot,  and  exemplary  citizen,  at  last  to  be  placed  in  affluent 
circumstances,  by  receiving  back  his  own,  after  such  a  lapse  of  time, 
which  he  had  so  largely  invested  in  these  land  speculations,  and  ydth. 
perhaps  the  interest  accrued  thereon,  in  the  enhanced  value  of  lands  in 
the  rapidly  growing  State  of  Texas.  There  is  something  solacing,  too,  in 
the  reflection  that  this  handsome  fortune  comes  to  him  at  a  period  of  life 
when  the  energies  of  man  have  generally  begun  to  decline.  Colonel 
Christy,  however,  presents  a  striking  example  to  the  contrary  of  this,  for 
he  is  not  only  in  appearance  still  a  comparatively  young  man,  but  in 
cheerfulness  of  disposition,  vigor  and  activity  of  mnd  and  body,  fully 
twenty  years  younger  than  is  usually  found  in  men  of  his  age  ;  and  he 
continues  to  enjoy  life,  as  indeed  he  has  ever  done,  with  the  zest  of 
a  man  of  thirty. 

That  Colonel  Christy  has  not  been  elected  to  various  offices  of  honor 
and  profit,  to  which  his  labors  in  the  Whig  cause  so  fully  entitled  him, 
has  been  rather  a  matter  of  preference  with  himself  than  any  want  of 
appreciation  of  his  eminent  services  and  talents  by  the  party  itself ;  for 
he  has  ever  preferred  devoting  his  whole  energies  to  the  duties  of  his 
profession.  It  has  been  this  that  has  always  induced  him  to  decline  the 
candidacy  for  Governor  of  his  state,  on  the  sevei'al  occasions  when  it  has 
pleased  his  political  friends  to  bring  his  name  before  the  public. 

And  again,  as  an  evidence  of  the  estimation  in  which  he  was  held  by 
his  fellow- citizens  during  his  career  as  an  Alderman,  he  was  frequently 
solicited  by  the  principal  men  of  both  political  parties  to  become  a  candi- 
date for  the  mayoralty,  which,  like  all  offices  of  a  similar  nature,  he 
declined  for  the  reasons  given  above. 

In  combining  the  practice  of  the  law  with  the  not.  •  'al  business,  he 
Qecessarily  had  to  confine  himself  in  the  pursuit  of  the  former  chiefly  to 
the  probate  and  office  practice,  including  the  examination  of  titles  to  real 
estate  and  giving  written  law  opini«-)ns,  the  result  of  which,  together  with 
the  large  criminal  practice  which  he  had  prior  to  his  appointment  as 
notary  public,  has  been,  after  a  familiarity  with  all  this  for  upwards  of 


WILLIAM    CHRISTY,    OF    KEW    ORLEANS,    LA.  403 

thirty  years,  to  place  him  among  the  foremost  of  the  members  of  the 
New  Orleans  Bar,  as  a  criminal  law,  probate,  and  real  estate  lawyer, 
which  secures  to  him  at  the  present  time  a  large  and  profitable  practice. 

In  a  previous  part  of  this  sketch,  in  speaking  of  the  misunderstanding 
which  Colonel  Christy  had  with  some  of  the  departments  at  Washington, 
whilst  he  was  acting  as  paymaster  of  his  regiment,  and  which  was  tha 
cause  of  his  resigning  from  the  army,  we  stated  that  he  was  correct 
throughout  all  his  transactions  with  the  government ;  and  no  stronger 
evidence  of  this  may  be  adduced  than  the  appointment,  voluntarily 
tendered  him  by  President  Fillmore,  to  the  responsible  office  of  Surveyor 
of  the  Customs  for  the  port  of  New  Orleans,  The  Colonel  had  never 
been  an  applicant  for  any  office,  and  only  accepted  the  appointment  to 
this  because  it  did  not  materially  interfere  with  his  own  professional 
business,  and  that  he  esteemed  it  complimentary  on  the  part  of  the 
President.  The  public  and  the  government  will  bear  witness  to  the 
prompt  and  satisfactory  manner  in  which  the  duties  of  this  important 
oflSce  were  discharged  under  his  administration  of  it. 

To  all  noble  and  generous  natures,  nothing  is  more  natural  than  to 
desire  the  good  opinion  of  their  fellow-men  ;  and  nothing,  perhaps, 
should  be  more  cherished  than  the  evidence  of  the  estimation  in  which 
they  have  been  held  by  the  good  and  the  great  of  the  land,  many  of 
whom  are  so  rapidly  passing  away  from  amongst  us. 

Intending  to  visit  Europe  in  1844,  Colonel  Christy  obtained  from  that 
distinguished  statesman,  Henry  Clay,  a  letter  of  introduction  to  Mr, 
Everett,  then  Minister  of  the  United  States  at  the  Court  of  St.  James, 
England,  and  we  -transcribe  a  copy  of  this  letter  as  an  evidence  of  the 
estimation  in  which  Colonel  Christ}^  was  held  by  Mr.  Clay,  who  knew 
him  well : — 

''Ashland,  28ih  October,  1843. 
"  My  Dear  Sir, — I  take  no  ordinary  pleasure  in  introducing  to  your 
acquaintance,  and  recommending  to  your  friendly  ofiices.  Colonel  William 
Christy,  of  New  Orleans.  I  have  long  known  him  as  a  high-minded 
gentleman,  distinguished  by  uncommon  public  spirit,  and  a  man  of 
business  habits,  untiring  industry,  and  highly  respectable  talents.  These 
qualities  he  has  displayed  in  peace  and  in  war,  and  in  all  the  relations 
of  society. 

"  With  great  respect,  I  am  your  obedt.  servt,, 

»H.   Clat, 
"  His  Excellency  E.  Everett,  Minister,  &c.,  &c.,  &c.,  London." 

it  is  not  to  be  expected  that  any  man  could  pass  nearly  forty  years  in 
New  Orleans,  engaged  all  this  time  in  active  pursuits,  and  much  of  it  in 
public  office,  without  having  encountered  some  personal  difficulties ;  but 
considering  the  proneness  to  duelling  in  former  days,  his  undoubted  and 
well  tried  courage,  as  well  as  his  prompt  disposition  to  resent  anything 
verging  upon  an  insult,  we  do  not  hesitate  to  assert  that  there  cannot  bo 
found  anywhere  a  man  who  has  engaged  in  fewer  of  these  difficulties 
than  Colonel  Christy,  and  never  a  single  one  growing  out  of  any  business 
transaction. 

True,  in  common  with  most  others,  who  have  long  lived  in  New 


404:  SKETCHES    OF    EMINENT    AMERICANS. 

Orleans,  he  has  had  a  few  "aflfairs  of  honor"  on  his  own  account,  nearly 
every  one  of  which,  however,  were  in  some  manner  connected  with 
politics  or  his  friends.  On  the  other  hand,  to  his  great  praise  be  it 
spoken,  he  is  believed  to  have  amicably  arranged  more  aftairs  of  this 
nature  than  any  other  gentleman  in  New  Orleans,  which  happy  termina- 
tion he  always  brought  about  by  his  rare  good  sense  and  undisputed 
courage,  the  combination  of  which  qualities  often  caused  him  to  be 
selected  as  a  referee  in  such  matters.  This  subject  is  dwelt  upon  by  the 
■writer,  who  knows  from  his  own  personal  knowledge  that  what  he  has 
here  asserted  is  strictly  true,  and  because  he  is  likewise  aware  that  beyond 
the  immediate  circle  of  Colonel  Christy's  acquaintance  he  has  long  been 
improperly  represented  as  a  man  of  violent  temper,  and  as  rather  fond  of 
what  is  vulgarly  termed  "  fighting."  So  far  from  his  meriting  any  such 
character,  there  is  no  gentleman  who  holds  in  more  utter  contempt  the 
professed  duellist  than  himself.  It  is  also  within  the  writer's  knowledge, 
that  the  Colonel  has  almost  invariably  refused  to  act  on  behalf  of  his 
friends  in  "aftairs  of  honor,"  unless  they  would  give  him  carte  blanche 
to  proceed  in  the  entire  matter  as  he  might  deem  best ;  and  in  this  way, 
as  we  have  already  stated,  he  has  prevented  many  of  what  might  have 
proved  most  fatal  encounters.  We  have  also  said,  that  he  has  himself 
had  to  appear  upon  the  field  in  a  hostile  attitude ;  and  it  is  due  to  truth 
to  add,  that  if  necessary,  he  would  yet  meet  any  personal  responsibility, 
but  never  from  choice.  The  Colonel  being  a  man  of  polished  and 
courteous  manners,  and  possessing  the  most  kindly  feelings,  is  ever 
careful  of  wounding  the  sensibihty  of  others,  and  is  hence  the  more 
unlikely  to  tolerate  any  attack  upon  his  own.  Whe»  such  occurs,  how- 
ever, he  is  quick  to  resent  it,  and  in  such  moments  is  a  dangerous  foe  to 
encounter,  for  when  danger  presses  hardest,  he  is  then  coolest  and  most 
collected;  and  although  we  cannot  agree  with  those  who  said  of  him 
(and  no  doubt  intended  it  as  a  compliment  to  his  courage),  that  "  he  had 
not  sense  enough  to  know  when  he  was  in  danger,"  yet,  coarse  as  is  the 
expression,  they  no  doubt  based  the  remark  upon  a  knowledge  of  the 
fact,  that  he  knows  no  fear. 

From  his  long  residence  in  New  Orleans,  and  constant  mingling  in  the 
politics  of  the  country.  Colonel  Christy  has,  as  a  matter  of  course, 
acquired  much  influence ;  and  being  a  ready  and  fluent  speaker,  he  is 
very  often  most  unexpectedly  called  upon  to  preside  over,  or  address 
popular  assemblages,  even  upon  other  than  political  subjects.  His  style 
of  eloquence  is  ol'ten  vehement,  which  never  fails  to  tell  with  the  people, 
who,  knowing  that  he  is  not  a  seeker  after  office,  are  always  convinced 
of  his  sincerity. 

In  the  advocacy  of  his  political  principles,  he  has  had  to  pass  through 
many  scenes  of  personal  danger,  some  of  them  of  an  almost  incredible 
character,  but  that  they  are  known  to  hundreds  yet  living.  For  instance, 
on  several  occasions,  in  states  other  than  his  own  (Louisiana),  his  life  has 
been  threatened  by  large  mobs,  because  he  has  always  had  the  courage 
to  speak  openly  and  freely  his  sentiments  upon  an  important  branch  of 
national  policy,  as  every  true  American  citizen  should.  When  sur- 
rounded by  an  infuriated  rabble  seeking  his  life,  and  only  waiting  for  one 
more  bold  than  another,  and  who  would  undertake  to  "bell  the  cat," 
the  glance  of  his  keen  and  fearless  eye,  with  the  athletic  proportions  of 


WILLIAM    CHRISTY,    OF    NEW    ORLEANS,    LA.  405 

his  body,  always  restrained  even  the  boldest  from  the  onslaught,  for  'twas 
plain  to  see  the  fate  of  the  foremost  in  the  attack. 

We  have  given  but  a  few  of  the  benevolent  acts  of  Colonel  Christy's 
life  in  this  sketch,  for  the  reason  that  he  himself  has  requested  the  sup- 
pression of  many,  which,  in  the  writer's  opinion,  who  is  well  acquainted 
with  the  facts,  are  amongst  the  noblest  acts  of  his  life  ;  but  the  Colonel 
is  unwilling  that  the  recipients  of  such  kindliness  should  have  their 
names  brought  before  the  public. 

Although  we  have  perhaps  written  more  than  we  had  originally 
intended,  yet  very  much  of  a  highly  interesting  character  must  necessarily 
be  omitted,  as  it  would  swell  this  sketch  beyond  the  proper  limits  for  the 
compilation  in  which  it  is  intended  to  appear ;  nevertheless  we  feel  that 
we  shall  not  have  done  even  partial  justice  to  the  subject  of  this  sketch, 
his  relatives  and  friends,  until  we  have  spoken,  however  briefly,  of  his 
domestic  qualities. 

In  all  the  relations  of  husband,  father,  step-father,  brother  and  friend, 
we  challenge  society  to  anywhere  produce  a  kinder,  truer,  or  more 
afiectionate  one  than  he  is,  and  always  has  been.  He  is  benevolent, 
generous,  and  charitable  to  a  degree  ;  cheerful  and  forgiving  in  his  dis- 
position ;  a  polished,  gentleman  in  his  conversation,  manners  and  deport- 
ment; fond  of  the  society  of  the  young,  with  whom  he  is  universally 
popular  and  always  welcome. 

Hospitality  in  all  times  has  been  deemed  a  virtue,  and  the  hospitality 
of  Colonel  Christy's  house  has  ever  been  proverbial ;  and  in  the  same 
spirit,  his  kind  attention  to  the  deserving  stranger,  arriving  in  his  city, 
has  been  a  subject  of  admiration  to  all  who  know  him. 

"With  a  mirthfulness  of  disposition,  remarkable  in  one  of  his  age,  and 
a  fondness  for  genial  company,  yet  he  has  ever  been  exemplary  in  his 
habits.  In  short,  he  is  emphatically  the  man  described  by  Fielding, 
"  who  does  good  by  stealth,  and  blushes  to  find  it  fame." 


ini3iiii!;Di!!i:i!;ii!iiiiiiigiiiEisiiyiiiiiiiii;iyiii 

I-:a.;r.-r.'eJ    hy    F  B.PorreaC,  from    a    D  aguwrreotjpe. 


CHALRES    KOCK,    OF    NEW    0  .LEANS,    LA.  407 

CHARLES    KOCK, 

OF    NEW    ORLEANS,    LOUISIANA, 

Was  born  at  Bremen,  Germany,  Oct.  12th,  1813,  and  entered,  after 
receiving  a  good  scliool  education,  upon  bis  commercial  career,  in  1828. 
He  remained  twelve  years  in  his  native  place,  serving  in  three  different 
houses,  all  of  which  were  engaged  in  the  trade  of  American  and  West 
Indian  tobacco,  thus  acquiring  a  the.  jugh  knowledge  of  this  important 
branch  of  commerce. 

He  was  employed,  in  1839,  by  Mr.  J.  P.  Piscatore,  of  Paris,  largely 
engaged  in  supplying  tobacco  to  the  different  governments  of  Europ'},  to 
come  to  the  United  States,  as  his  agent  for  making  and  superintending 
the  purchases  of  this  article  in  the  different  markets  of  Baltimore,  Rich- 
mond, New  Orleans,  and  Havana,  and  to  assif^t  during  the  winter  in  the 
delivery  of  the  same  in  Spain,  France,  and  Italy. 

So  much  was  Mr.  P.  pleased  with  the  knowledge,  zeal,  and  firmness 
displayed  by  him  on  different  occasions,  that  at  the  expiration  of 
the  second  year,  he  gave  him  an  interest  in  the  profits  of  the  house,  which 
interest  was  doubled  the  third  year,  and  the  promise  added,  that  at  some 
future  time  he  should  be  made  one  of  the  leading  partners  of  the  French 
house.  This  latter  plan,  however,  was  changed  by  the  preference  given 
by  Mr.  Kock  to  remain  in  this  country,  for  which,  as  having  witnessed 
his  fii'st  success,  he  naturally  felt  a  great  attachment,  and  where,  moreover, 
he  thought  his  services  could  be  of  greater  advantage  to  his  friend. 
Having  communicated  his  views  to  that  effect  to  Mr.  Piscatore,  and 
received  his  consent,  he  became  a  citizen  of  the  U.  S.  in  1845,  and 
established  himself  permanently  in  New  Orleans,  where,  a  short  time 
after,  he  married  the  daughter  of  a  highly  respectable  Creole  lady. 
The  business  of  his  Paris  friend  occupying  him  sufficiently,  he  continued 
almost  exclusively  to  confine  himself  (o  it,  leaving  to  a  younger  brother 
all  other  business  connexions.  He  continued  to  prosper  and  be  successful 
in  all  he  undertook. 

In  1847,  the  one-half  interest  in  a  large  sugar  plantation  on  Bayou 
Lafourche  was  offered  to  him,  which  he  accepted,  leaving  to  his  partner 
the  entire  management  of  the  concern.  Pending,  however,  at  the  expira- 
tion of  four  years,  that  the  estate  was  not  managed  as  well  as  it  might  be, 
he  determined  upon  selling  out,  in  order  to  get  rid  of  it,  or  upon  buy- 
ing and  managing  it  according  to  his  own  views.  Mr.  Kock  conse- 
quently settled  with  his  partner  upon  this  plan,  offering  to  buy  or  to  sell 
at  a  fixed  price,  leaving  to  him  the  option  of  doing  either  the  one  or 
the  other ;  and  when  he  preferred  to  sell,  Mr.  Kock  became  the  sole 
owner  of  this  estate,  then  worth  about  200,000  dollars. 

This  property  pro  ed,  in  the  beginning,  a  great  burden  to  him, 
situated  as  it  is,  at  a  distance  of  80  mil-^s  from  New  Orleans;  and  it 
required  an  uncommon  activity  on  his  part  to  superintend  the  manage- 
ment oi  the  same,  without  making  his  business  in  the  city  suffer  from  it. 
Notwithstanding,  however,  the  many  difficulties  and  disappointments 
jvith  which  he  had  to  contend,  with  but  a  very  superficial  knowledge  of 


408  SKETCHES    OF    EMINENT    AMEItJCANS. 

planting,  and  suffering  at  that  time  losses  by  storm,  fire,  and  sickness,  yet 
such  was  his  undaunted  energy  and  perseverance,  such  his  good  sense  in 
the  management,  that  in  less  than  three  years  he  made  this  estate  fully 
equal  to  the  finest  in  the  southern  country.  It  produced  last  year  (1852) 
more  than  double  what  it  ever  had  done  before,  its  yield  being  over  a 
million  of  pounds  of  sugar,  and  the  crop  of  1853  much  exceeds  the  one 
of  last  year. 

His  fortune  is  nearly  a  million  of  dollars,  and  his  yearly  income  now 
from  fifty  to  one  hundred  thousand  dollars.  This  wealth  is  his  not  by 
inheritance,  for  he  arrived  here  without  either  friend  or  money,  nor  by 
speculation,  for  he  never  was  known  to  be  engaged  in  any,  but  by  hard 
and  persevering  labor,  economy,  and  prudence.  His  credit  as  a  merchant 
is  undoubted,  and  ranks  amongst  the  highest  of  the  city  ;  as  a  planter  he 
has  entered  successfully  into  competition  with  the  most  important  in  the 
state. 

If  not  known  more  extensively,  and  in  public  life,  it  is  because  his 
various  occupations  have  taken  all  his  time  ;  yet  there  is  no  doubt  but 
at  some  future  day,  and  when  somewhat  relieved  of  the  press  of  business, 
be  will,  like  others,  devote  part  of  his  time  and  means  to  the  interest  of 
his  fellow  citizens.  His  career  ought  to  serve  as  an  example  to  all  young 
men,  and  his  success  should  stimulate  them  to  do  as  he  has  done,  if  they 
desire,  like  him,  to  enjoy  and  reap  the  fruits  of  their  labor  in  later  years. 
Surrounded  by  a  lovely  wife  and  children,  by  friends  who  estimate  and 
appreciate  him,  and  having  at  his  command  everything  which  wealth 
can  add  to  the  enjoyments  of  life,  his  is  certainly  an  enviable  position, 
and  one  well  worthy  of  being  contended  for  by  all. 


lEB  WAffi. 


EDWAKD    SIMON,    OF    SAINT    MARTINSVILLE,    LA.  409 

EDWARD    SIMON, 

OF     SAINT     MARTINSVILLE,     LOUISIANA, 

Was  born  on  the  26th  of  May,  1*799,  in  the  town  of  Tournay,  province 
of  Haynaut,  Belgium.  At  that  time  his  native  country  was  a  part  of  the 
then  French  KepubHc,  and  his  birth-place  was  included  within  the  limits 
of  the  department  of  Jemappes,  well  known  by  the  victory  which  the 
French  Republican  army  obtained  over  the  Austrians  on  the  Vth  of 
November,  1792.  The  field  of  Fontenoy,  celebrated  by  the  great  battle 
of  the  11th  of  May,  1745,  is  within  a  few  miles  of  his  birth-place. 

He  was  the  eldest  son  of  Edward  Simon  and  Harriet  VValnier,  descend- 
ants of  old  and  resp(-ctable  Belgian  families ;  his  parents  were  not 
wealthy,  but  had  sutticient  means,  with  their  own  industry,  to  enable 
them  to  raise  their  family  honorably,  and  to  give  to  their  children  a  liberal 
education.  At  the  age  of  eight  years,  after  a  preparatory  and  elementary 
education  received  at  home,  as  is  usual  in  that  country,  he  was  sent  to 
one  of  our  best  and  ancient  colleges,  called  the  St.  Paul  College, 
formerly  a  branch  of  the  well  known  University  of  Louvain,  and 
rejnained  there  until  he  had  attained  his  sixteenth  year.  He  was 
successful  in  his  studies,  and  we  may  say  that  during  the  eight  years  of 
his  college  education  lie  was  always  at  the  head  of  his  class,  and  spoken 
of  as  one  of  the  best  students  in  the  institution.  He  was  more  advanced 
than  his  age  would  show,  and  after  having  completed  his  classical  edu- 
cation, his  parents,  considering  him  as  a  fit  subject  for  the  legal  profes- 
sion, sent  him  to  Brussels  to  study  the  civil  law,  which  at  that  time  was, 
and  still  is,  the  law  of  the  land.  This  was  in  1815,  shortly  before  the 
battle  of  Waterloo.  Full  of  life  and  energy,  full  of  ambition,  he  then 
determined  to  endeavor  to  become  prominent  in  the  career  to  which  he 
thought  he  was  destined,  and  commenced  his  legal  studies  with  that  zeal 
and  intended  perseverance  that  is  said  to  be  one  of  the  national  character- 
istics of  the  Belgians ;  he  thought,  also,  tftat  a  new  era  was  about 
to  commence  for  his  country,  and  that  Belgium  was  in  a  fair  way  to 
recover  her  ancient  privileges  and  liberties.  He  was  mistaken  :  and 
young  as  he  was  he  so^n  judged  otherwise.  Belgium  was  annexed  to 
Holland,  and  he  became  convinced  that  his  poor  countrymen  had  only 
changed  their  yoke  (it  was  shaken  off  in  1830),  and  that  the  last  one 
should  bear  more  heavily  upon  them  than  it  had  done  under  the  French 
Imperial  Government.  So  it  was.  One  of  the  first  attempts  of  the  new 
order  of  things  against  their  liberties  was  to  require  the  law  students  to 
learn  the  Dutch,  so  as  to  make  this  language  the  language  of  the  bar,  and 
one  of  the  requirements  for  the  bench  and /or  admission  to  the  bar  was  a 
thorough  knowledge  and  full  piactice  of  a  foreign  tongue  ! — of  a  tongue 
imposed  upon  them  by  a  tyrannical  power,  by  the  rulers  of  a  state  less 
populous  than  theirs !  This  he,  for  one,  could  not  submit  to,  and  he 
changed  his  views. 

Disgusted  with  the  new  order  of  things,  and  considering  that  his  pro- 
fessional prospects  were  all  batilod,  he  turned  his  eyes  towards  the  Uni- 
ted Stats  of  America,  whose  institutions  and  form  of  government  be 


410  SKETCHES    OF    EMINENT    AMERICANS. 

had  occasion  to  admire  in  the  course  of  his  historical  studies  ;  he  con- 
tinued, however,  to  study  law  for  two  years  longer,  in  compliance  with 
the  wishes  of  his  parents,  but  in  the  meantime,  undertook  to  learn  the 
English  language,  in  order  to  prepare  himself  for  the  execution  of  the 
plan  he  had  formed  for  his  future  career  and  welfare. 

In  the  spring  of  1817,  sufficiently  conversant,  as  he  thought,  in  the 
English  language,  he  prevailed  on  his  parents  to  permit  his  emigrating 
to  the  United  States.  They  consented,  though  reluctantly,  to  the  propo- 
sition, and  procured  him  the  means  of  carrying  his  plan  into  eft'ect. 
He  first  went  to  London,  where  he  had  several  friends,  and  after  a  sojourn 
of  a  few  weeks,  having  obtained  a  few  lettei-s  of  introduction  to  various 
persons  in  America,  he  took  passage  on  board  of  an  American  vessel, 
and  alone  in  the  world,  at  the  age  of  a  little  upwards  of  eighteen,  un- 
known and  without  friends,  he  landed  at  Baltimore  on  the  third  day  of 
September,  1817. 

He  had  abandoned  all  ideas  of  becoming  a  lawyer,  and  thinking  it 
would  be  more  advantageous  to  his  purposes  to  embark  in  commercial 
pursuits,  the  first  object  of  his  endeavors  in  Baltimore  and  in  other 
northern  cities,  was  to  obtain  employment  as  clerk  in  a  commercial  house. 
In  this  he  did  not  succeed,  notwithstanding  he  had  made  himself  known 
advantageously  ;  and  not  knowing  what  to  do,  a  stranger  on  a  foreign 
soil,  he  was  about  trying  to  get  employment  as  a  teach ar  of  French  and 
of  ancient  languages  in  an  Academy,  when  he  accidentally  met  with  an 
old  and  very  respectable  French  gentleman  who  treated  him  with  friend- 
ship, and  who,  recollecting  that  in  his  travels  through  Belgium  in  for- 
mer times,  he  had  become  acquainted  with  several  members  of  his 
family,  took  him  under  his  protection,  and  became  his  second  father. 
His  name  was  Peter  Rcgnier  ;  he  was  a  cotton  planter  in  that  part  of 
Louisiana  called  Attakapas,  and  being  on  the  eve  of  returning  home 
he  took  him  to  New  Orleans.     This  was  clearly  a  decree  of  Providence  ! 

He  lived  one  year  with  his  protector,  on  his  plantation  in  the  parish 
of  St.  Mary's,  and  had  occasion  to  become  acquainted  with  several 
respectable  American  and  Creole  families  ;  but  his  old  friend  had  the 
misfortune  of  losing  his  only  daughter  and  child,  and  at  the  end  of  the 
year,  he  determined  to  sell  the  plantation  and  to  return  to  Europe,  after 
an  absence  of  nearly  thirty  years.  He  offered  to  take  Mr.  S.  along  with 
him  to  Belgium,  but  he  refused,  and  before  leaving  Louisiana,  his  last 
service  to  our  subject  was  to  procure  him  employment  in  a  mercantile 
establishment  in  St.  Martinsville. 

Six  months  afterwards  (in  August,  1819),  he  became  the  owner  of 
the  store  in  which  he  was  employed  as  clerk,  in  partnership  with  his 
employer's  brother-in-law.  He  then  thought  that  his  prospects  were 
such  as,  with  industry  and  perseverance,  might  enable  him  to  reach 
the  object  he  had  in  view  when  first  he  landed  in  Baltimore,  but  he  soon 
found  he  was  mistaken ;  it  was  not  his  proper  occupation,  and  he  soon 
became  conscious  he  was  not  born  for  commercial  pursuits. 

In  the  spring  of  1820  two  young  gentlemen  of  the  New  Orleans  bar 
settling  in  St.  Martinsvilh^  with  a  view  of  opening  an  office  therej  and 
of  practising  their  profession  in  partnership,  he  became  acquainted  with 
them.  One  of  these  gentlemen  was  Felix  Grima,  Esq.,  subsequently 
judge  of  the  criminal  court  of  New   Orleans,  and   the  other  was  Aa 


EDWARD    SIMON,    OF    SAINT    MARTINSVILLE,    LA.  411 

Robin,  JSsq.,  afterwards  judge  of  the  parish  of  Pointe  Coupeo.  They 
80011  were  his  intimate  friends.  Having  had  occasion  to  o].en  iheir 
library  and  to  examine  their  law  books,  he  found  among  them,  to  his 
astonishment,  several  of  his  old  acquaintances  of  the  law  school,  f^uch  as 
Justinian,  Domat,  Pothier,  d;c.;  he  was  not  aware  that  the  ssaie  of 
Louisiana  was  the  only  state  in  the  Union  governed  by  the  civil  law  ; 
and  on  his  informing  Judge  Grima  that  he  was  once  intended  for  the 
legal  profession,  and  had  studied  the  same  system  of  laws  for  two  years, 
he  was  strongly  urged  to  abandon  mercantile  operations,  and  resume  his 
studies,  and  given  to  understand  that  one  year  more  would  be  sutKcient 
to  acquire  the  necessary  qualifications  for  admission  to  the  bar.  He  fol- 
lowed this  advice ;  Judge  G.  promised  to  guide  his  endeavors,  and 
shortly  after,  having  succeeded  in  winding  up  his  commercial  business, 
he  devoted  himself,  day  and  night,  to  the  study  of  the  system  of  laws 
then  in  force  in  Louisiana,  under  the  guidance  of  his  friend,  who  had 
returned  to  New  Orleans,  but  who  never  ceased  to  give,  by  his  kind  and 
friendly  correspondence,  the  information  wanted  to  foster  his  plan  and 
attain  his  object. 

The  qualifications  of  a  good  Louisiana  lawyer  were  at  that  time  mani- 
fold :  he  had  to  acquire  a  certain  knowledge  of  the  Spanish  language, 
so  as  to  be  enabled  to  read  and  understand  the  old  Spanish  laws,  then 
yet  in  force,  and  their  commentators  ;  the  French  and  English  languages 
were  then  equally  spoken  both  in  the  legislative  council  and  at  the  bar; 
a  complicated  system  of  laws  having  its  origin  in  ditlerent  sources,  and 
the  jurisprudence  of  the  state,  as  established  by  the  decisions  of  its 
supreme  tribunal,  being  then  very  imperfect  and  quite  limited,  the  i-ead- 
ing  of  a  large  number  of  law  books,  written  in  those  three  ditierent 
languages,  was  indispensable  ;  and  it  necessarily  required  a  much  longer 
time  to  go  through  a  regular  course  of  legal  studies  in  Louisiana  than 
in  any  other  state  in  the  Union.  Dismayed  by  no  difficulty,  animated 
by  determined  purpose,  and  more  and  more  fond  of  the  noble  profession 
liis  beloved  parents  had  wished  him  to  adopt,  he  made  great  proficiency 
in  legal  studies,  and  in  December,  1821,  after  a  successful  and  satisfac- 
tory pubhc  examination  in  the  presence  of  the  most  distinguished  mem- 
bers of  the  bar,  such  as  Edward  Livinr/ston,  £Jtienne  Mazureau,  Judge 
Worhnan,K\\([  others,  who  complimented  him  on  his  legal  acquirements, 
he  received  his  license  from  the  Honorable  George  Matthews,  Francis  X. 
Martin,  and  Alexander  Porter,  thiee  of  the  most  eminent  jurists  in  the 
United  States,  and  then  occupying  the  high,  distinguished,  and  honor- 
able station  of  Judges  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  Louisiana. 

Soon  after  his  admission  to  the  bar  he  returned  to  St.  Martinsville, 
where  he  opened  an  office,  and  immediately  commenced  the  practice  of 
his  profession,  under  the  most  favorable  ai  ^pices.  Well  known  all  over 
the  district  (the  Judicial  District  over  which  he  extended  his  practice  was 
composed  of  four  parishes,)  from  intercourse  with  the  people,  whilst  in 
mercantile  business,  and  possessing  the  advantage  and  facility  of  address- 
ing the  juries  in  either  of  the  two  languages  spoken  in  the  country,  he 
soon  acquired  a  certain  reputation,  and  numerous  clients  intrusted  their 
business  to  his  efforts.  He  continued  to  devote  his  leisure  hours  to  legal 
studies.  He  was  successful  in  his  first  causes,  which  were  mostly  jury 
cases,  and  several  of  which,  being  important  criminal  prosecutions,  seemed 


412  SKEICIIES    OF    EMINENT    AMERICANS. 

to  have  created  a  certain  interest  in  the  community  ;  and  generally  op- 
posed in  his  judicial  combats  to  his  friend  John  B/oivnson,  Esq.,  one  of 
the  most  eminent  and  learned  advocates  in  this  state.  His  standing  at 
the  bar  became  such  as  to  secure  not  only  the  honors  of  high  repute  in 
his  professional  career,  but  also  a  profitable  practice  for  the  future.  The 
reports  of  the  decisions  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  Louisiana  from  the  first 
volume  of  Martin's  Reports,  new  series,  to  the  thirteenth  volume  of  the 
Louisiana  Reports,  show  the  extent  of  that  practice  in  civil  cases  for  the 
space  of  eighteen  years ;  and  we  may  add  that  he  was  generally  em- 
ployed to  defend  the  criminal  cases  that  arose  in  the  districts,  and  among 
them  many  an  important  case,  with  remarkable  success. 

In  1823,  he  took  his  beloved  companion  in  life  from  one  of  the  most 
resnectable  and  ancient  families  in  the  state.  His  family  is  now  com- 
posed of  seven  children,  two  of  whom  are  married,  and  his  eldest  son, 
who  for  three  years  was  a  law  student  in  Harvard  University  at  Cam- 
bridge, is  now  fulfilling  honorably  and  successfully  the  duties  of  State 
District  Attorney,  in  the  same  District  where,  thirty  years  before,  he  had 
commenced  the  exercise  of  a  noble  profession. 

In  1839,  in  a  visit  made  to  the  north,  Mr.  S.  had  the  honor  to  become 
acquainted  with  Chancellor  Kent,  aud  with  Judge  Joseph  Story,  to  whom 
he  was  introduced  by  letters  from  his  friends  Judges  Martin,  and  H.  A. 
BuUard,  of  the  Supreme  Courts.  Having  been  introduced  to  them  as  a 
good  Civilian,  he  had  the  pleasure  to  converse  with  those  two  eminent 
jurisfs  on  divers  civil  law  subjects,  which  appeared  to  give  tliem  a  cer- 
tain degree  of  satisfaction  very  gratifying  to  professional  feelings. 

In  February,  1840,  he  received  his  commission  as  one  of  the  judges  of 
the  Supreme  Court,  of  this  state,  the  appointment  having  been  unani- 
mously confirmed  by  the  Senate.  Judges  Martin  and  Bullard  w-ere 
among  his  colleagues  ;  their  friendly  feelings  towards  him  never  changed, 
and  they  labored  together  in  the  heavy  toils  of  their  high  and  respon- 
sible office,  until  March,  1846,  when  they  were  all  superseded  by  new 
a2)pointmenis,  made  under  a  new  constitution.  It  is  well  known  that, 
although  they  never  interfered  in  any  political  struggles,  their  political 
opinions  were  the  sole  cause,  we  should  not  say  of  their  removals,  but 
of  their  not  having  been  reappointed. 

As  to  the  manner  in  which  he  has  fulfilled  the  duties  of  his  ofiice,  we 
can  say  :  as  a  public  servant,  he  labored  hard,  and  the  reports  of  the 
decisions  of  the  Louisiana  Supreme  Court,  whilst  he  was  on  the  bench, 
consisting  of  eighteen  volumes  in  six  years  (from  14<A  Louis.  Rep.,  to  12 
Robinson  inclusively),  show  sufficiently  the  extent  and  nature  of  the 
services  rendered  to  his  adopted  state. 

After  leaving  the  bench,  Mr.  Simon  retired  to  the  quiet  life  of  a  citizen  ; 
he  established  a  large  sugar  plantation  in  Attakapas,  which  is  now  his 
principal  occupation ;  and  if  occasionally  he  undertakes  to  defend  im- 
portant civil  cases,  and  appears  as  counsel  in  courts  of  justice,  it  is 
because  he  still  loves  a  profession  to  which  he  owes  his  prosperity,  his 
happiness  in  life,  and  the  standing  and  welfare  of  his  family. 


^  ^ 


-'"'S">.vediyjc.B^«,,   &om-^"«^ 


OF  JJAnTFOKD,  KElfTlfCKY. 


■„„rm'rrl  fnr  hinarcwhical  Skadus  of  Emmmt ArruricajTS. 


JOHN  II.  m'hENRV,  of  UARTFORD,  KENTUCKY.  413 

JOHN    H.    M'HENRY, 

OF     HARTFORD,    KENTUCKY. 

Biography  is  to  the  study  of  human  nature  what  maps  and  charts  are 
to  the  study  of  Geography,  plain  illustrations  of  the  facts  and  principles 
taught  in  the  text.  Each  truly  written  biography  is  but  a  series  of  draw- 
ings and  diagrams  of  virtues  practised,  resulting  in  veneration  and  esteem, 
laborious  toil  and  industry  finally  rewarded,  or  vice,  folly,  and  idleness, 
leading  to  ignorance,  want,  and  crime. 

What  youth  that  has  ever  toiled  to  distinction  and  fame  but  was  at 
some  desponding  moment  cheered  onward  to  his  labors  by  Plutarch  ?  This 
author  may  be  looked  upon  as  one  of  the  greatest  benefactors  of  mankind, 
— but  what  a  wider,  more  glorious  field,  lies  open  to  the  American  bio- 
graphers— here,  where  the  highest  honors  lie  open  to  the  humblest  indivi- 
dual, where  every  better  feeling  of  the  heart,  every  sensation  of  patriotism, 
every  prompting  of  interest  and  ambition,  but  point  the  rising  generation 
onwards  and  upwards,  how  pleasing  the  task  to  point  out  the  way-marks  to 
usefulness  and  honor. 

In  a  country  oftering  the  most  powerful  inducements  to  noble  efibrts 
and  noble  actions,  it  is  but  natural  to  look  for  exalted  character ;  nor  do 
we  look  in  vain.  No  country  upon  earth  has  ever  produced  such  a  galaxy 
of  bright  stars  as  the  American  Republic,  nor  is  it  alone  to  the  halls  of 
Legislature,  and  titled  oflScers  of  government,  whose  names  are  daily 
heralded  to  the  world,  that  we  are  to  look  for  the  truly  great  in  American 
society  ;  but  in  every  section  and  neighborhood  individuals  may  be  found, 
who,  despite  of  poverty  and  adversity,  have,  relying  upon  their  own 
native  strength,  toiled  onwards  and  upwards,  and  are  now  enjoying  the 
highest  stations  of  honor  and  usefulness,  or  if  preferring  the  more  substan- 
tial pleasures  of  private  life,  are  diff"using  knowledge,  virtue,  and  patriotism, 
through  the  calm,  but  not  the  less  powerful  undercurrent  of  social  life. 

The  Hon.  John  H.  M' Henry  is  a  striking  illustration  of  these  reflec- 
tions. His  father,  the  Rev.  Barnabas  M'Henry,  was  one  of  the  pioneers  of 
Kentucky.  He  came  not,  however,  as  one  of  the  early  speculators  or  land- 
jobbers,  seeking  to  lay  the  foundations  of  a  worldly  fortune,  but  as  an 
humble  herald  of  the  cross,  and  among  the  first  Methodist  preachers  that 
were  sent  to  the  west ;  here  he  toiled  faithfully,  undergoing  all  the  hard- 
ships and  privations  incident  to  such  a  life  at  such  a  period.  Penniless,  and 
frequently  almost  coatless,  he  kept  his  post  in  the  western  wilds  until  his 
exhausted  constitution  compelled  him,  for  a  time,  to  abandon  his  itinerant 
station  in  the  church.  He  was  a  man  of  strict  piety,  calm  and  dignified 
demeanor  and  deportment,  and  occupied  a  high  and  honorable  station  in 
his  church  until  the  period  of  liis  death.  He  married  Miss  Sarah  Hardin, 
daughter  of  Colonel  John  Hardin,  so  noted  in  the  early  history  of  Ken- 
tucky, and  who  fell  a  victim  to  Indian  perfidy,  while  with  only  an  inter- 
preter he  was  traversing  their  territoiy  as  the  bearer  of  a  flag  of  truce.  His 
noble  daring  and  sad  fate  was  thought  worthy  of  a  record  and  place  in 
the  archives  of  the  nation. 

The  subject  of  this  memoir  was  born  in  Washington  county,  Kentucky, 


414  SKETCHES    OF    EMINENT    AMERICANS. 

on  the  13tb  day  of  October,  1797.  In  those  early  days  in  Kentucky,  in 
naost  neighborlioods,  the  benefits  of  schools  were  almost  unknown  ;  many 
did  not  enjoy  the  opportunity  of  acquiring  the  first  rudiments  of  learning ; 
and  this  might  have  been  his  fate  had  it  not  been  for  the  kind  parental 
care  of  his  father  and  mother,  to  whom  he  was  indebted  for  nearly  all  the 
tuition  he  ever  received,  for  he  never  v?ent  to  school,  except  to  his  fjither, 
but  a  few  months,  and  during  that  time,  owing  to  the  ignorance  of  his 
preceptor,  he  acquired  more  bad  habits  of  pronunciation,  <fec.,  than  all 
his  other  acquii'ements  compensated  for.  With  the  aid  of  his  parents,  and 
by  his  own  application,  he  derived  his  whole  stock  of  learning,  except  that 
to  the  kindness  of  the  Rev.  John  Peitle  he  was  indebted  for  instruction 
in  the  science  of  geometrj'^  and  surveying,  and  his  father  taught  the  Hon. 
Henry  Peitle,  now  of  Louisville,  Ky.,  English  grammar  in  return. 

How  many  young  men,  surrounded  by  fortune  and  friends,  possessing 
every  advantage  in  position  and  means,  have  dwindled  into  insignificance, 
and  filled  an  ignoble  grave  ;  not  so,  however,  with  the  boy  of  mettle,  spirit, 
and  nerve,  though  in  the  very  backwoods  of  civilization,  deprived  of  all 
the  advantages  of  a  more  advanced  state  of  society,  his  wants  and  priva- 
tions teach  him  fortitude,  perseverance,  and  self-reliance.  The  rapid 
changes  wrought  by  the  toiling  hand  of  civilization  are  but  so  many  les- 
sons on  application  and  industry.  The  magnificent  forests  inspire  gran- 
deur and  simplicity  of  conception,  and  the  youthful  mind  draws  vigor 
and  inspiration  from  all  around. 

Surely,  young  M'Henry  felt  these,  or  some  of  these  influences,  for  with 
all  his  difficulties  surrounding  him,  and  laden  with  a  portion  of  the  cares 
and  drudgeries  of  his  father's  family,  he  had  grown  up  to  be  a  youth  of 
sufficient  promise  to  arrest  the  keen,  penetrating  eye  of  his  maternal  uncle, 
Martin  D.  Hardin,  at  that  time  one  of  the  most  distinguished  lawyers  of 
the  state,  and  father  of  the  late  and  much  lamented  Colonel  John  J.  Har- 
din, who  fell  at  Buena  Vista,  adding  another  bright  halo  to  our  national 
glory. 

His  uncle  invited  him  to  become  a  resident  of  his  family  at  Frankfort, 
Ky.,  and  to  study  law  under  his  tuition  and  guidance  ;  he  commenced  his 
studies  in  the  summer  of  1816,  and  continued  in  his  uncle's  family  until 
the  fall  of  1818,  at  which  time  he  was  examined  by  the  then  appellate 
judges  of  the  state,  Boyle,  Owsley,  and  Logan,  who  granted  him  license  to 
practise  law. 

To  the  honor  of  uncle  and  nephew  it  may  be  truly  said  that  no  student 
ever  felt  more  true  gratitude  and  veneration  for  his  preceptor  than  did 
young  M'Henry  for  his  uncle,  nor  was  this  feeling  transient,  but  it  con- 
tinued, and  prompted  every  act  of  kindness  to  his  widowed  aunt  and  her 
family,  to  whom  he  had  frequent  opportunities  of  rendering  aid  and  assist- 
ance in  the  settlement  and  management  of  Mr.  Hardin's  estate,  and  there 
is  no  doubt  the  same  feelings  glow  with  unabated  warmth  to  the  present 
hour. 

Having  obtained  license,  and  become  what  too  many  students  consider 
a  full  grown  lawyer,  his  uncle  Hardin  handed  him  a  letter  of  advice,  and 
as  our  young  friend  thought  proper  to  make  the  following  endorsement  on 
it — "  Contains  advice  that  must  never  be  forgotten  or  departed  from,"  and 
as  he  has  been  frequently  heard  to  say  in  after  life  that  he  never  has 
departed  from  the  same  without  afterwards  having  cause  to  regret  it,  the 


JOHN  H.  m'hENRY,  of  HARTFORD,  KENTUCKY.        "  415 

reader  will  pardon  tho  llbcrt}'  here  taken  of  transcribing  the  letter  into 
this  memoir,  and  every  young  lawyer  should  treasure  the  rules  there  laid 
down  as  a  legacy  bequeathed  him  by  a  distinguished  member  of  the  pro- 
fession.    The  following  is  a  literal  copy : — 

Locust  Hill,  28d  Oct.  1818. 

Dk.  John  : — There  are  a  few  principles  for  governing  a  man's  actions 
in  life  that  are  worth  more  than  ordinary  fortunes,  especially  to  profes- 
sional men.     I  will  give  a  few. 

1st.  "  What  you  have  to  do,  do  at  the  first  time  which  it  can  bo 
done." 

This  embraces  many  old  proverbs,  "  take  time  by  the  forelock,"  &c. 
It  requires  industri/, — It  begets  leisure. 

2d.  "  Do  just  one  thing  at  a  time."  In  other  words,  "  finish  what  you 
begin."     By  this  rule  everything  will  be  done  better  and  in  less  time. 

3d.  "Never  use  your  client's  money."  But  inform  him  of  its  receipt 
by  the  first  mail,  and  remit  by  the  first  opportunity. 

A  character  for  punctuality  is  thus  acquired,  a  man  is  never  ashamed 
or  afraid  to  meet  his  client,  and  he  is  relieved  from  remorse  which  always 
should  attend  the  using  another  man's  money  and  not  replacing  it  when 
wanted,  and  I  am  sure  no  man  can  habitually  use  his  client's  money  and 
yet  always  have  it  ready  when  it  ought  to  be  paid,  let  his  wealth  and 
credit  be  what  they  may. 

I  have  said  notliing  about  strict  moral  integrity  ;  this  is  indispensable. 
But  I  trust  you  stand  not  in  need  of  any  monitions  on  that  head. 

I  have  attempted  to  make  the  above  three  rules  the  leading  ones  in 
my  business.  I  never  have  departed  from  either  but  I  have  felt  the  effects 
of  it. 

You  must  not  think  that  as  you  have  got  license  you  are  a  lawyer,  and 
have  nothing  to  do  but  get  suits.  Occasionally  mixing  in  company, 
going  to  public  places,  and  becoming  acquainted  with  the  people  and 
with  human  nature,  is  necessary.  But  habitual  reading  and  attention 
(that  is,  remaining  in  your  office)  is  indispensable. 

If  you  are  closdy  and  pcrseveringhj  industrious  you  will  succeed.  If 
you  are  not,  you  will  fail  in  your  hopes. 

Yours, 

J 'no.  H.  M'Henry.  M.  D.  Hardin. 

With  this  letter  of  advice,  a  small  library  of  books,  and  the  scant 
allowance  of  ten  dollars  in  his  pocket,  this  new-fledged  lawyer  bids  adieu 
to  his  parental  roof  and  kind  friends,  and  seeks  a  new  home  among 
strangers.  Aware,  no  doubt,  that  he  could  not  sustain  himself  at  a 
crowded  bar,  he  prudently  selected  a  location  where  there  was  at  that 
time  no  resident  lawyer,  and  became  domiciled  with  that  kind,  benevolent 
old  landlord,  William  Cunningham,  in  the  town  of  Litchfield,  Grayson 
County,  Ky.  And  although  it  may  be  deemed  a  digression,  the  writer 
of  this  sketch  cannot  refrain  from  paying  a  tribute  of  respect  to  this  noble- 
hearted,  whole-souled  old  friend.  In  him  was  honor  and  benevolenco 
personified\;  ever  ready  to  extend  a  helping  hand  to  rising  worth  and 
merit,  his  memory  is  still  cherished  in  the  bosoms  of  many  who  were 
invigorated  in  the  dark  hour  of  despondency  by  his  aid  and  counsel. 


416  SKETCHES    OF    EMINENT    AMERICANS. 

"  Never  (has  Mr.  M'Henry  frequently  been  heard  to  say)  did  he  liint 
to  me  anything  Hke  a  dun,  or  intimate  my  arrearages  to  him,  but  on  the 
contrary,  frequently  when  I  would  be  about  to  start  on  my  circuit,  and 
he  had  any  reason  to  suppose  I  was  scarce  of  funds,  he  would  say,  '  Now, 
John,  are  you  sure  you  have  money  enough  to  do  your  round — mind,  young 
lawyers  don't  always  have  good  luck  from  home,  and  I  don't  want  my 
boys  to  feel  pinched  for  money — you  had  better  let  me  loan  you  some  ; 
you  can  return  it  just  whenever  it  gets  to  be  convenient  to  do  so,'  and 
my  necessities  sometimes  compelled  me  to  accept  of  his  kind  offer,  and  I 
paid  him  when  and  how  I  could — he  always  appearing  rather  to  receive 
it  to  gratif)'-  my  own  sense  of  justice  and  right,  than  his  own  feelings  of 
thrift  and  gain." 

Unpromising  as  this  location  appeared,  it  proved  to  be  a  fortunate  one 
to  the  subject  of  this  sketch.  In  order  to  form  himself  a  circuit  of  six 
counties,  he  had  to  practise  under  four  different  circuit  judges,  and  was 
thrown  into  collision  at  the  bar  with  the  lawyers  attending  those  four 
circuits,  many  of  whom  were  of  the  first  eminence  and  standing  in  the 
state.  Having  no  resident  lawyer  with  whom  to  counsel  and  advise,  nor 
travelling  in  a  regular  circuit  with  other  members  of  the  bar,  and  forming 
habits  of  intimacy  and  looking  to  them  for  aid  and  assistance,  he  had  to 
rely  upon  his  own  resources,  and  instead  of  continually  consulting  his 
friends,  as  young  lawyers  are  too  prone  to  do,  he  had  to  consult  his  books 
alone.  And  it  was  to  these  circumstances  mainly  that  may  be  attributed 
his  great  excellence  and  reputation  as  a  special  pleader. 

With  no  oratorical  gifts  or  rhetorical  graces,  he  soon  began  to  acquire 
the  reputation  of  a  safe  and  reliable  lawyer.  Older  advocates  of  reputation 
found  him  a  useful  assistant  in  the  management  of  a  suit,  and  notwith- 
standing in  the  argument  of  a  cause  he  never  made  a  great  display,  the 
strong  and  reliable  points  never  escaped  his  notice. 

A  vacancy  having  occurred  in  the  14th  Judicial  District,  composed  of 
the  counties  of  Breckenridge,  Daviess,  Henderson,  Union,  Hopkins, 
Muhlenburg,  and  Ohio,  General  John  Adair,  then  Governor  of  Kentucky, 
appointed  him  commonwealth  attorney  for  the  same,  and  he  immediately 
removed  to  Hartford,  the  most  central  point  of  his  district. 

Here  he  soon  began  to  reap  the  fruits  of  his  labors.  His  duties  as 
prosecuting  attorney  were  laborious  and  arduous  in  the  extreme ;  they 
pressed  him  forward,  and  compelled  him,  in  a  measure,  to  lay  aside  that 
bashful  timidity  so  injurious  to  many  worthy  young  men.  He  had  daily  to 
exhibit  to  the  crowd  the  native  strength  and  vigor  of  his  intellect,  and 
the  close,  logical,  and  acute  powers  of  his  reasoning  faculties.  Business 
men  saw  that  their  causes  could  be  safely  intrusted  to  his  hands ;  that 
although  he  did  not  always  gain  the  applause  of  the  crowd,  he  ever  had 
the  ear  of  the  court,  and  he  has  ever  since  occupied  a  distinguished  posi- 
tion at  the  bar. 

He  continued  to  discharge  the  duties  of  commonwealth  attorney  until 
the  year  1839,  when  he  resigned.  Seldom  has  the  commonwealth  been 
represented  with  more  real  ability,  perhaps  never  with  more  honest  inte- 
grity ;  he  scorned  to  lend  his  aid  to  malignant  and  vexatious  prosecutions, 
and  to  waste  the  time  of  the  court  in  frivolous  and  unimportant  questions. 
He  seemed  to  direct  his  whole  energies  to  the  main  and  important  ques- 
tion, whether  the  accused  was  guilty  or  innocent.     If  conscientiously  con- 


JOHN'  H.  m'hENRY,  of  HARTFORD,  KENTUCKY.  41*/ 

vinced  of  innocence,  he  made  no  effort  to  condemn  ;  if  he  really  believed 
the  culprit  guilty,  he  exerted  his  whole  energies  to  secure  his  punishment. 
In  his  whole  management  of  the  cause,  his  etforts  seemed  to  bo  to  arrive 
at  the  truth,  the  whole  truth.  His  statement  of  the  evidence  was  always 
fair,  candid,  and  correct ;  his  arguments  were  but  fair  and  legitimate  influ- 
ences arising  from  the  evidence;  and  as  he  was  never  very  verbose  and 
tedious,  but  concise,  compact,  and  always  to  the  point,  his  concluding 
speech  to  the  jury  was  always  dreaded  by  the  opposing  counsel.  An  old 
lawyer,  who  had  a  distinguished  reputation  as  a  criminal  advocate,  would 
frequently  be  seen  walking  behind  the  bar,  anxiously  watching  the  coun- 
tenances of  the  jury,  and  has  been  sometimes  heard  to  exclaim,  "d n 

M'Henry's  candor,  it  is  playing  the  d 1  with  that  jury." 

Although  with  the  intelligent  and  business  part  of  the  community  Mr. 
M'Henry  has  always  stood  deservedly  high,  he  has  never  had  that  great 
popular  reputation  that  some  others  have  enjoyed  of  far  less  real  merit. 
He  is  utterly  destitute  of  humbug,  and  never  speaks  for  buncombe.  When 
he  has  argued  the  point  of  law  to  the  court,  or  arrayed  his  evidence  and 
his  inferences  therefrom  before  the  jury,  he  conceives  that  he  has  done  his 
duty  ;  he  does  not  feel  bound  to  gratify  the  spleen  of  his  cHent  by  abusing 
his  adversary.  To  gain  a  cause  against  the  evidence,  he  cannot  conde- 
scend to  hurl  the  charge  of  perjury  against  an  innocent  and  unoffending 
witness.  Possessing  himself  the  highest  degree  of  delicate  sensibility,  and 
the  utmost  regard  for  his  own  reputation  and  honor,  it  is  seldom  that  he 
can  reconcile  it  to  himself  to  wound  the  feelings  and  attack  the  character 
of  others ;  he  never  does,  unless  the  circumstances  clearly  justify  him  in 
doing  so. 

Mr.  M'Henry's  great  excellence  as  a  lawyer  consists  in  his  retentive 
memory,  by  which  he  takes  hold  of  and  retains  a  long  and  complicated 
chain  of  facts  and  circumstances  in  a  cause,  his  presence  of  mind  and  cool 
deliberation,  clear,  discriminating  judgment,  and  thorough  knowledge  of 
the  law. 

He  never  takes  notes,  but  never  forgets  the  points  in  the  evidence  worth 
remembering ;  does  not  become  hurried  or  excited  into  a  misstep ;  pru- 
dently stops  the  examination  of  a  witness  as  soon  as  he  has  stated  the  fact 
he  was  called  to  prove,  lest  something  might  be  elicited  that  might  be  in- 
jurious to  his  cause  ;  he  is  ever  ready  to  detect  any  defect  in  the  cause  of 
his  adversary,  and  take  the  advantage  of  it.  His  authorities  are  always  to 
the  point,  if  he  offers  any ;  and  if  one  is  read  by  his  opponent,  and  there 
is  a  shade  of  difference  between  it  and  the  question  before  the  court,  he  is 
ready  to  draw  the  distinction  and  illustrate  the  difference.  He  seldom 
rises  to  speak  without  showing  some  degree  of  diffidence  and  embarrass- 
ment, which  disappears  as  he  progresses  ;  his  language  is  chaste,  and  pro- 
nunciation good,  but  never  fanciful.  He  seldom  digi'esses  from  the  sub- 
ject, unless  to  tell  an  anecdote  by  way  of  illustration.  His  anecdotes  are 
well  selected,  and  frequently  prove  a  happy  hit. 

There  is  one  point  in  his  character  as  a  lawyer  deserving  the  highest 
commendation — his  kind  indulgence  and  aid  to  the  junior  members  of  the 
bar.  When  not  opposed  to  them,  he  is  ever  ready  to  lend  them  any 
counsel  or  assistance ;  if  opposed,  he  never  exposes  their  weakness,  it' 
possible  to  avoid  it.  He  will  try  out  a  cause  upon  its  merits  with  the 
most  faulty  declaration,  rather  than  expose  the  ignorance  of  a  young 

VOL.   III.  21 


418  SKETCHES    OF    EMINENT    AMERICANS. 

attorney,  unless  the  true  interest  of  his  cHent  should  require  a  diiferent 
course. 

As  a  politician,  Mr.  M'llenry  has  always  been  a  firm,  staunch,  consist- 
ent wliig,  but  not  very  fortunate  in  his  political  aspirations.  For  the  first 
time  ho  was  a  candidate  and  was  elected  to  the  state  Legislature  in  1 840, 
and  acquired  considerable  reputation  as  a  sound,  practical  legislator,  and 
useful  business  member.  In  1841  he  became  a  candidate  for  Congress; 
his  opponent  was  an  active,  talented,  energetic  man,  and  the  late  member. 
He  seized  upon  what  was  called  in  the  district  the  tobacco  hobby.  Our 
limits  would  not  permit  an  explanation  of  this  question,  or  hobby  as  it 
was  then  called  and  afterwards  proved  to  be.  Mr.  M'Henry  denounced 
it  as  a  hobby  at  the  time,  and  so  did  a  majority  of  the  intelligent  portion 
of  the  district,  but  the  bait  was  too  flattering  and  tempting;  it  caught 
and  carried  away  the  masses,  and  Mr.  M'Henry  was  badly  beaten. 

No  unkind  allusion  is  here  intended  to  the  memory  of  his  successful 
competitor.  He  was  of  ardent  and  sanguine  temperament,  his  tobacco 
project  was  flattering  and  deceptive  to  the  mind,  and  he,  perhaps  believed 
candidly  in  its  practicability.  Death  has  recently  removed  him  from  our 
midst,  but  his  memory  will  long  be. cherished  as  a  true  and  noble-hearted 
friend. 

Mr.  M'Henry  was  again  the  whig  candidate,  and  elected  over  the  demo- 
cratic candidate,  a  very  talented  and  promising  young  man,  in  1845.  He 
is  not  of  that  cast  of  character  that  would  at  once  make  a  brilliant  debut 
in  the  hall  of  Congress,  wasting  the  time,  and  clogging  the  wheels  of 
legislation  with  brilliant  harangues  about  matters  and  things  in  general, 
and  nothing  in  particular ;  but  on  the  contrary,  he  immediately  set  about 
acquiring  such  useful  knowledge  as  could  only  be  learned  in  his  present 
position,  and  soon  began  to  be  looked  upon  by  the  old  and  experienced 
members  as  a  useful  and  practical  member,  well  versed  in  the  affairs  of 
government,  and  would,  no  doubt,  in  a  short  time,  had  he  been  returned 
to  Congress,  have  taken  a  very  high  stand  among  the  few  real  business 
members. 

He  was  again  a  candidate  in  1847 ;  several  other  whig  candidates  also 
announced  themselves,  and  a  district  convention  was  finally  called  to  de- 
cide upon  the  claims  of  the  aspirants.  The  convention  met,  but  the  can- 
didates had  been  so  long  on  the  track,  and  their  friends  so  excited,  that 
much  confusion  prevailed,  and  Mr.  M'Henry,  without  consulting  his 
friends,  arose  and  withdrew  himself  from  the  contest,  a  course  much  re- 
gretted by  his  friends  at  the  time,  as  they  thought  his  chances  decidedly 
the  best,  but  was  probably  the  most  prudent  he  could  have  pursued,  as 
the  result  afterwards  proved,  for  the  nominee  of  the  convention  was  finally 
beaten  by  the  democratic  candidate. 

He  was  again  a  candidate  for  delegate  to  the  state  convention  in  1849  ; 
being  entirely  conservative  in  his  views  and  opinions  upon  the  subject  of 
the  new  constitution,  he  met  with  the  most  violent  opposition.  A  large 
party  were  emancipationists — an  overwhelming  majority  were  for  extend- 
ing the  elective  franchise  to  every  officer  of  government.  Mr.  M'Henry 
contended  that  the  friends  of  the  convention  stood  pledged  by  the  mani- 
festo which  they  had  published  to  the  people  of  Kentucky  not  to  disturb 
the  relations  between  master  and  servant,  or  the  question  of  slavery  in 
any  way.     He  also  took  a  very  decided  stand  against  an  elective  judiciary 


JOHN  II.  m'hENRY,  of  HARTFORD,  KENTUCKY.  419 

at  least  by  a  direct  vote  of  the  people.  He  met  this  question  boldly  and 
firmly,  and  maintained  his  position  to  the  end  of  the  contest ;  but  at  the 
solicitation  of  many  of  his  warmest  friends,  who  determined  to  support 
him  in  any  event,  he  agreed  to  submit  the  question  of  an  elective  judi- 
ciary to  a  vote  of  the  people  at  the  polls,  and  be  governed  by  it  in  his 
votes  and  action  as  a  delegate.  The  result  proved  that  four  fifths  of  the 
people  were  in  favor  of  it ;  and  in  the  convention,  yielding  his  own  opi- 
nions, lie  carried  out  those  of  his  constituents  in  good  faith. 

Although  hundreds,  who  should  have  been  leaders  in  the  great  move- 
ment of  reforming  the  organic  law  of  the  state,  entertained  similar  views 
upon  the  subject  of  an  elective  judiciary,  scarce  a  single  candidate  had 
the  moral  courage  to  maintain  those  views  upon  the  stump.  The  truth 
is,  the  whole  state  of  Kentucky,  at  that  time,  presented  a  scene  little  cre- 
ditable to  her  leading  politicians,  and  clearly  exhibiting  the  great  evils  of 
party.  Ten  years  before  the  question  of  a  convention  had  been  submitted 
to  the  people,  and  the  vote  in  its  favor  did  not  even  amount  to  a  respect- 
able minority ;  but  the  state  had  long  been  in  possession  of  the  whigs, 
the  democrats  knew  they  could  lose  nothing  by  agitation,  and  many 
practical  abuses  and  evils  have  grown  up  under  the  old  system  of  things. 
Many  low  mutterings  were  heard  that  indicated  the  coming  storm.  The 
question  was  again  referred  to  the  people.  The  captains  of  hosts  general- 
ly took  to  the  fence  to  watch  the  result ;  the  question  was  carried  almost 
by  acclamation ;  party  leaders  now  came  down  into  the  ranks,  and  each 
party  tried  to  out-Herod  Herod.  Candidates  now  mounted  the  stump, 
not  to  discuss  the  true  principles  and  science  of  government,  but  to  laud 
and  demagogue  the  people  ;  to  advocate  and  panegyrize  what  was  popu- 
lar, not  to  expose  what  was  false  and  deceptive,  and  to  prove  what  was 
true  and  immutable.  And  when  we  retrospect  the  events  of  that  period, 
it  really  seems  a  matter  of  astonishment,  and  cause  of  gratulation  to  the 
native  good  sense  of  the  masses,  that  so  much  conservatism  and  so  little 
red-republicanism  was  engrafted  into  the  new  constitution. 

To  Mr.  M'Henry's  credit  be  it  written,  that  he  boldly  took  his  stand 
against  some  of  the  most  radical  and  red-republican  doctrines  of  the  day. 
He  was  elected  a  delegate,  and  served  as  Chairman  of  the  Committee  of 
Revision — one  of  the  most  arduous  and  laborious  positions  that  could  have 
been  assigned  him  in  the  convention — and  discharged  his  duties  with  great 
fidelity,  until  he  was  prostrated  by  illness,  during  the  latter  part  of  the 
session. 

Perhaps  a  greater  diversity  of  opinion  exists  in  relation  to  Mr.  M'Hen- 
ry's social  qualities  and  habits  than  upon  any  other  point  of  his  charac- 
ter. Whilst  his  friends  and  intimate  acquaintances  represent  him  as  mild, 
pleasant,  agreeable,  plain,  and  republican  in  his  manners  and  intercourse  ; 
strangers  and  enemies  sometimes  represent  him  as  haughty,  aristocratic, 
and  morose.  I  will  not  attempt  to  decide  this  controversy,  for  there  are, 
at  least,  apparent  grounds  for  both  opinions  ;  but  I  will  give  facts,  and  let 
the  reader  decide  for  himself.  As  was  before  remarked,  he  is  destitute  of 
all  humbuggery,  and  consequently  of  all  flattery.  It  is  also  true  that  he 
generally  dresses  genteelly,  but  not  gaudily  ;  and  exhibits  very  good  taste 
in  his  furniture  and  equipage.  When  among  strangers,  or  in  a  crowd, 
he  is  rather  taciturn  and  unsocial.  When  engaged  in  business  he  devotee 
his  whole  attention  to  it,  and  does  not  like  to  be  interrupted,  or  have  his 


420  SKETCHES    OF    EMINENT    AMERICANS. 

mind  diverted  fi'om  it,  and  at  sucli  times  possesses  a  considerable  degree 
of  Abernethean  laconicism  and  acidity  of  temper.  From  all  these  facts 
it  might  well  be  inferred  that  individuals  might  sometimes  leave  his  com- 
pany vi'ith  rather  unfavorable  impressions  of  his  qualities  for  good  com- 
panionship. But  when  his  mind  is  unstrung  from  the  tension  of  thought, 
and  he  is  surrounded  by  a  circle  of  his  friends  and  acquaintances,  no  man 
more  completely  unbends  himself  and  indulges  in  all  the  pleasures  of  free 
and  social  intercourse  with  all  around  him,  and  few  who  enjoy  his  society 
while  in  this  mood  ever  leave  him  with  unfavorable  impressions  in  regard 
to  his  social  qualities. 

From  his  long  practice  in  an  extended  region  of  the  Green  River 
country,  where  the  simple,  plain,  backwoods  habits  of  the  early  settlers 
longest  tarried,  and  where  Avit,  humor,  oddity,  and  awkward  simplicity, 
all  exhibited  themselves  in  all  their  native  simplicity  and  richness  of  zest, 
untrammelled  by  the  conventional  forms  of  more  fashionable  life,  it  is  quite 
natural  to  suppose  that  a  man  of  his  shrewd  observation  and  excellent 
memory  would  acquire  a  fund  of  wit  and  anecdote  that  would  form  an 
agreeable  and  pleasing  episode  to  the  usually  dull  tedium  of  legal  bio- 
graphy, and  it  was  my  intention  at  this  point  to  amuse  the  reader  with 
a  few  of  M^ Henri/'' s  Best,  but  a  copy  of  a  letter  from  the  humerous  and 
witty  pen  of  James  Weir,  Esq.,  to  a  city  friend,  has  just  come  ^o  hand  ; 
and  as  it  gives  a  very  graphic  sketch  of  the  Green  River  bar,  and  a 
description  of  a  laughable  adventure  in  which  the  subject  of  our  memoir 
was  one  of  the  heroes,  I  will  not  mar  the  beauty  of  the  whole  by  extracts, 
but  give  his  letter  entire : — 

"il/ay,  1852. 

"  My  Dear  Dick  : — I  have  as  much  love  and  respect  for  our  noble 
profession  as  any  man  living,  but  you  know  that  constant  enjoyment,  even 
of  the  best  things  of  life,  will  in  time  produce  a  nausea,  and  I  therefore 
beg,  that  for  the  future,  in  the  epistles  with  which  you  may  favor  me, 
you  will  '  throw  physic  to  the  dogs,'  or  in  other  words,  sink  the  lawyer, 
and  leave  professional  terms  for  the  courts  and  law  papers. 

"  Just  think  of  it,  your  last  letter  is  so  filled  up  with  questions,  that 
any  one  would  take  it  for  a  string  of  interrogatories'  to  be  appended  to 
some  ancient  bill  in  Chancery ;  and,  to  tell  you  the  truth,  whan  I  first 
read  it,  I  thought  I  was  on  my  '  voir  dire,'  and  imagined,  for  the  time, 
I  was  in  the  worshipful  presence  of  some  learned  Dogberry,  sworn  to 
speak  the  truth,  the  whole  truth,  and  nothing  but  the  truth. 

*'  In  the  long  list  of  interrogatories  sent  down  by  your  honor,  are  the 
following  : — '  Who  are  your  great  men  ? — how  do  you  like  the  country 
practice  ? — and  what  amusements,  if  any,  do  you  meet  with  in  your 
rugged  journeyings  around  the  circuit  V 

"  Now,  my  dear  fellow,  if  you  had  not,  from  your  infancy  up  to  your 
present  age  of  maturity  (for,  I  believe,  the  last  time  I  had  the  pleasure  of 
a  squint  at  your  lovely  countenance,  you  wore  a  moustache),  been  cooped 
up  between  the  brick  and  mortar  of  your  humdrum  city,  I  would  feel 
disposed  to  write  yon  down  (may  Balam's  steed  pardon  my  impertinence) 
an  ass — but,  as  it  is,  I  will  only  regard  you  as  a  desperately  green  one, 
and  never  wish  you  any  greater  misfortune  than  to  live  on  your  legal 
life — that  is,  your  professional  career — ^just  where  you  are,  under  the 


JOHN  H.  m'hENRY,  of  HARTFORD,  KENTUCKY.  421 

benignant  gaze  of  your  fat  alderman,  without  really  knowing  what  fun. 
is — I  mean  the  fun  (if  your  dignity  will  allow  me  the  expression)  that  we 
country  barristers  enjoy  in  our  professional  circuit. 

''  But  I  can  see  you  now,  my  poor  fellow,  as  you  sit  in  your  little  ten 
by  twelve  office,  surrounded  by  calf-bound  volumes,  anxiously  awaiting  a 
bite  :  wonderingly  drawing  back  your  chair,  and  asking  '  how  in  the 
world  do  you  amuse  yourself?' 

"  A  very  natural  question,  indeed,  for  a  city  bred  attorney,  who  never 
swung  a  fishing  rod,  shot  a  gun,  or  straddled  a  horse;  but,  at  the  same 
time,  I  warn  you  never  to  put  this  query  to  another  country  lawyer, 
unless  you  want  him  to  think  you  a  most  agreeably  soft  one,  and  perhaps 
Gulliverize  you  to  his  heart's  content. 

"How  amuse  ourselves? — Ha!  Dick!  if  you  would  only  leave  your 
den,  and  take  a  six  weeks'  tour  with  me  around  our  circuit,  you  would 
never  ask  such  a  question  again — and  what  is  more,  never  again  con- 
demn yourself  to  cobwebs  and  a  city  office — but  would  ever  breathe  the 
pure  air  of  our  hills  and  valleys— and  after  beholding  our  circuit  lawyers, 
and  joining  once  in  their  fierce  conflicts  of  wit  and  argument,  nevermore 
doubt,  when  I  tell  you,  '  that  the  major  part  of  the  great  men  of  our 
nation  hail  from  the  country  !'  There  is  no  dull  fixing  up  and  preparing 
for  argument  by  our  country  lawyers,  for,  with  them,  'tis  ride  all  day, 
frolic  at  night,  and  fierce  mental  struggles  in  court  between-times.  Since 
employed,  as  they  frequently  are,  after  the  cause  is  called  for  trial,  they 
have  no  time  for  preparation  ;  and  no  wonder  our  country  practitioners 
are  always  ready  for  argument,  fancy,  eloquence,  wit,  sarcasm,  or  retort, 
and  when  they  become  politicians  are  fully  prepared  for  any  and  every 
emergency  ! 


"  Our  circuit,  as  you  know,  embraces  the  counties  of  Daviess,  Hancock, 
Breckenridge,  Ohio,  Muhlenburg,  Hopkins,  and  Henderson  ;  and,  strange 
as  it  may  appear  to  you,  who  think  nothing  good  can  come  out  of  Na- 
zareth (that  is,  exist  out  of  a  city),  I  can  name  now  more  eloquent  men, 
and  eminent  lawyers,  who  practise  in  these  courts,  than  can  be  found  in 
any  two  cities  in  the  Union;  for  instance  (and  I  will  only  name  those 
who  have  passed  the  meridian  of  life,  and  are  broadly  known  throughout 
the  country,  since  the  younger  barristers  are  legion),  our  present  Judge 
"Rinchelor,  our  late  Judge  Calhoun,  M'Henry,  Dixon,  Rumsey,  Powell, 
Hopkins,  Triplett,  Harder,  Peyton,  Hise,  M'Larning,  Bristow,  Grey,  Sw- 
ing, &c.,  and  I  might  continue  my  enumeration  almost  '•ad  infiuitura,^ 
were  I  disposed,  and  did  I  not  think  you  would  grow  weary  at  my  long 
list  of  great  counsellors  all   hailing  from  that  same  Nazareth,  that  you 

wise  men  of  parchment,  in  the  good  city  of  L ,  feign  so  heartily  to 

despise. 

"  But,  once  more,  I  hear  you  grumblingly  exclaim,  *  what  are  your 
amusements  V  and,  as  I  started  out  to  give  you  a  sketch  of  our  country 
practice,  then  here  goes,  my  good  fellow,  and  as  you  are  fixed  in  your 
present  location,  may  you  never  sigh  for  the  freedom  and  stirring  life 
enjoyed  by  your  humble  servant  and  his  country  brethren. 

"  'Tis  true  we  have  no  theatre,  oyster  cellar,  shows,  &c.,  to  which  we 
may  resort,  like  our  city  friends,  when  in  search  of  amusement ;  but  then, 
as  we  have  only  two  circuits  a  year,  we  have  what  you  city  lawyers  can 
never  call  your  own,  a  plenty  of  spare  time  to  devote  either  to  hunting, 


422  SKETCHES    OF    EMINENT    AMERICANS. 

fishing,  riding,  or  reading,  or  in  a  still  better  manner,  to  our  wives 
children,  and  friends  ;  and  another  very  great  advantage  we  hold  over  our 
city  brethren  is,  that  we  are  not  compelled  like  them  to  be  for  ever  in  our 
offices,  for  fear  some  unlucky  devil  may  wish  to  take  a  legal  bite  (some- 
thing like  the  adder's  file  to  many  of  them),  and  we  not  be  on  hand  to 
furnish  the  hook. 

"  And  then,  my  dear  Dick,  if  you  could  only  see  us,  on  some  fine 
spring  morning  or  frosty  day  in  fall,  mounted  upon  our  dashing  steeds 
(for  you  know  we  have  the  pick  of  the  circuit,  and  country  lawyers  are 
proverbially  great  horse  jockeys),  wending  our  way,  with  laugh,  and 
song,  and  anecdote,  from  court  to  court ;  or,  in  the  middle  of  the  day, 
lolling  around  some  noted  spring  by  the  way,  enjoying  our  cigars  and 
(tell  it  not  in  Gath)  brandy,  with  a  cold  snack  from  our  well  filled  sad- 
dle-bags, you  would  never  again  roll  over  a  dusty  turnpike,  behind  one 
of  your  fast  trotters,  or  sit  down  with  any  degree  of  grace  to  a  formal 
ilinner  at  your  hotel.  And  then  again,  when,  after  a  long  day's  ride,  we 
stop  at  some  of  our  country  friends  by  night,  what  an  excitement  do  we 
create  among  the  whites  and  blacks,  not  forgetting  the  hen-roost,  and 
with  what  glorious  nonchalance  do  we  tumble  in,  two  or  three  together 
when  beds  are  scarce,  and  if  not  disposed  to  merriment  or  conversation, 
sink  forthwith  into  a  real  country  sleep,  undisturbed  by  firebell  or  roll  of 
hack  and  omnibus  ! 

"  Ah  !  Dick  !  You  will  never  know  what  a  comfortable  sleep  is — unless 
you  come  down  and  take  with  me  a  trip  on  horseback  around  the  cir- 
cuit. But  when  we  arrive  at  the  county  town  where  we  are  to  remain 
for  the  week  (and  condemn  or  acquit  rascals  as  the  case  may  be),  and 
find  already  gathered  there,  our  legal  brethren  from  the  counties  around 
— and  settle  with  'mine  host  of  the  inn' and  his  sable  hostler,  as  to 
where  man  and  beast  must,  as  the  saying  is,  '  tabernacle '  during  our 
short  sojourn — then  I  say,  comes  the  '  tug  of  war,'  and  the  different 
corps  or  cliques  open  their  batteries  at  once,  and  it  is,  wit — song — anec- 
dote, and  flashing  repartee,  for  the  remainder  of  the  term,  when  outside 
the  sacred  precincts  of  the  court  room — and  we  enjoy  what  was  never 
'  di'eamed  of  in  the  philosophy  of  your  city  lawyers,'  who  never  meet 
except  in  crowded  courts,  and  never  do  battle,  save  over  some  dry  point 
of  law  ! 

"  To  give  you  an  idea,  Dick,  of  one  of  our  night  parties  at  a  village 
tavern,  in  term  time,  I  cannot  do  better  than  relate  to  you  a  celebrated 
conflict  which  took  place  some  years  ago,  between  the  Hon.  John  H. 
M'Henry,  and  quite  a  famous  and  witty  gentleman  by  the  name  of 
S from  the  town  of  E . 

"  M'Henry,  you  must  know,  is  one  of  the  best  lawyers  of  our  circuit, 
and  was  for  many  years  our  commonwealth  attorney,  and  has  been  our 
representative  in  Congress,  and  is  withal  a  man  of  great  humor,  and  ex- 
celled but  by  few  in  the  social  circle  ;  and  in  addition  to  all  these  excel- 
lences, has  a  natural  but  comical  way  of  shutting  one  eye,  when  speak- 
ing or  in  conversation,  which  is  very  laugh-inviting,  especially  when  he 
is  relating  one  of  his  many  ludicrous  anecdotes — and  for  this,  and 
many  other  reasons,  he  is  quite  a  favorite  with  the  fun-loving  portion  of 
our  profession. 

"  But  that  you  may  fully  understand  the  nature  and  cause  of  the  bat- 


JOHN  H.  M  HENRY,  OF  HARTFORD,  KENTUCKr.  423 

tie  I  am  now  about  to  relate,  it  will  be  necessary  for  me  to  say,  that 
there  has  ever  been  a  rivalry  between  the  lawyers  north  and  south  of 
Green  river  in  our  circuit — and  before  the  wager  and  contest  I  will 
now  describe,  it  was  a  mooted  and  vexed  question  with  the  bar,  which 
side  could  tell  the  best  anecdote,  and  sing  the  best  song ! 

"  At  last,  Mr.  S from  E— — ,  came  down  to  the  court  at  G , 

and  being  a  very  witty  man,  full  of  anecdote  and  song,  he  for  a  day  or 
so  carried  all  before  him,  totally  eclipsing  our  side  of  the  river,  and, 
much  crest-fallen,  we  were  about  to  submit,  and  give  up  the  field,  when 
John  Calhoun,  our  late  judge,  then  a  practising  lawyer,  considering  that 

it  would  never  do  to  give  it  up  so,  boldly  challenged  Mr.  S and  his 

party,  to  a  regular  '  set  to '  at  anecdote  and  song,  backing  his  chal- 
lenge with  a  wager,  promising  to  produce  a  man  from  our  side,  that 
could  and  would  tell  more   and  better  anecdotes  and  sing  better  songs 

than  Mr.  S ,  or  any  of  his  party ! 

"  This  challenge  accepted — the  lion.  John  H.  M'Henry  was  chosen  as 
champion  by  the  judge,  and  readily  assented  to  do  battle,  as  a  good  and 
true  knight,  for  the  honor  of  our  name — provided  (for  he  was  a  little 
given  to  practical  jokes,  and  may  be  was  a  little  fearful  of  the  rencounter) 
that  the  judge  and  our  party  would  faithfully  promise  to  laugh  at  and 
applaud  all  of  his  stories,  good  or  bad,  and  admire  his  songs ;  and  as 
faithfully  promise,  never  to  laugh  at,  if  it  could  be  helped,  any  of  S — 's 
anecdotes — or  if  this  could  not  be  done,  then  always  to  laugh  or  applaud 
in  the  wrong  place.  This  plot  fully  arranged  and  agreed  upon,  imagine 
a  little  room  in  the  upper  story  of  the  hotel,  with  a  table  comfortably  set 
out,  covered  with  drinkables,  M'Henry  and  his  party  at  one  end,  and 
Mr.  S —  with  his  backers  at  the  other — and  you  will  have  in  your  mind's 
eye  the  scene  of  conflict,  with  the  contending  parties  duly  arranged  and 
drawn  out  for  battle. 

"  Calhoun,  one  of  the  handsomest  men  of  his  age  in  the  country,  and  ex- 
celled by  very  few  in  eloquence  and  legal  information,  has  the  remark- 
able faculty  or  power,  of  presenting  with  one  side  of  his  face  all  the  gra- 
vity of  a  judge,  whilst  with  the  other  he  is  at  the  same  moment  laughing 
heartily.  And  now  that  the  battle  was  about  to  commence,  true  to  his 
compact  with  M'Henry,  he  sat  in  the  midst  of  his  company,  with  the 
grave  side  of  his  countenance  always  presented  to  the  enemy,  and  his 
laughing  phiz  smiling  upon  his  friends  to  encourage  them  to  victory, 

"  M'Henry  opened  the  conflict  by  telling,  and  in  an  inimitable  way,  one 
of  his  best  stories,  which  was  followed  of  course  by  shouts  of  laughter, 
from  not  only  our  party,  but  from  the  enemy,  who  had  no  idea  of  the 
plot  on  hand  to  destroy  the  brilliancy  of  their  own  champion.  S — 
finding  that  he  had  a  foe  worthy  of  his  steel,  followed  with  an  equally 
good  story,  told  in  elegant  style,  but  our  party,  taking  their  cue  from  the 
grave  visage  of  the  judge  turned  warningly  upon  them,  to  a  great  extent 
smothered  their  merriment,  while  S — 's  party,  who  had  heard  his  story 
before,  and  who  were,  to  tell  the  truth,  no  little  astonished  at  our  general 
gravity,  did  not  receive  it  in  a  manner  it  deserved. 
"  S — 's  opening  gun  was  pronounced  a  failure. 

"  With  renewed  spirits  at  the  evident  discomfiture  of  the  enemy, 
M'Henry  told  a  still  more  laughable  story,  and  did  it  with  increased 
power  and  effect ;  for  by  this  time  our  party,  amused  at  the  ruse  they 


424  SKETCHES    OF    EMINENT    AMERICANS. 

were  playing  off"  on  poor  S — ,  were  ready  to  laugh  at  any  and  everything, 
while  S — 's  party,  who  were  fighting  fair,  showed  their  evident  satisfac- 
tion by  loud  bursts  of  merriment.  Nerving  himself  for  the  trial  S — 
told  his  next  story  with  such  brilliancy  and  force,  as  even  to  have  some 
effect  upon  the  imperturbable  judge,  for  the  laughing  side  of  his  face 
moved  with  visible  agitation  ;  and  many  of  his  party,  unable  to  suppress 
their  mirth  in  spite  of  themselves,  could  but  give  vent  to  their  laughter, 
and  re-echo  the  applause  of  their  foe. 

"  With  a  few  more  '  bouts'  S —  finding  himself  always  worsted,  volun- 
teered a  comic  song,  which  was  received  with  hecoming  and  touching 
solemnity  by  the  judge  and  his  party,  and  M'Henry,  taking  his  cue 
from  the  sad  countenances  of  the  enemy,  meeting  this  attempted  comedy 
of  S —  with  a  pathetic  little  air  (which  almost  brought  tears  into  the 
eyes  of  the  foe,  and  the  eff"ect  of  which  his  own  friends  came  very  near 
destroying  by  their  suppressed  laughter)  once  more  was  proclaimed 
victor. 

"  After  this,  although  S —  told  many  of  his  best  stories,  there  was  a 
very  visible  falling  off  in  the  applause  of  the  company,  for  his  own  party 
became  dispirited,  and  ours,  if  they  laughed  at  all,  did  so  when  there  was 
no  occasion,  or  in  a  very  feeble  manner ;  and  thus  it  went  on,  M'Henry 
improving  with  every  glass  that  went  round  the  board,  and  S —  con- 
stantly sinking,  until  at  last  he  suddenly  gave  up  the  contest,  and  with 
his  party  totally  routed  and  discomfited,  ingloriously  left  the  field. 

"  Poor  S  ! —  He  never  again  set  himself  up  for  a  wit ;  this  signal  defeat 
was  more  than  he  could  bear. 

"  The  judge  won  his  wager ;  thanks  be  to  the  skill  of  M'Henry,  the 
solemn  side  of  his  own  countenance,  and  the  praiseworthy  perseverance 
with  which  his  party  stuck  to  their  pledge  of  gravity. 

"  From  this  celebrated  night,  we  have  claimed  and  held  supremacy  over 
our  Southern  brothers,  and  they  have  never  from  that  day  to  present 
time,  offered  to  have  another  rencounter  of  wit,  and  I  am  disposed  to  think, 
never  will,  as  long  as  we  have  M'Henry  to  hold  '  in  terrorem'  over 
them. 

"  Pardon  this  long  and  disjointed  epistle,  dear  Dick,  and  though  not 
born  of  the  same  parents,  and  therefore  not  legally  related — still  I  will 
remain  as  ever, 

"  Your  legal  brother, 

"James  Weir." 

Mr.  M'Henry  is  equally  felicitous  at  reply  and  retort,  or  what  might  be 
called  "  wit  in  a  pinch."  1  will  give  a  single  example.  During  the 
celebrated  contest  between  the  old  and  new  court  parties  in  Kentucky,  the 
copy  of  a  contract  entered  into  between  one  of  the  then  judges  of  the 
new  court  and  a  certain  widowed  lady,  was  published,  and  went  the  rounds 
of  the  press ;  in  this  contract  the  memorable  words  were  used,  "  In  the 
payment  of  which  sum  the  said  Haggin  is  not  to  be  hastened.''  This 
expression  was  seized  upon  by  the  old  court  party,  and  became  a  by- 
word. Mr.  M'Henry  (who,  at  least,  is  not  so  sharp  at  a  horse  trade  as  his 
friend  Weir  represents  a  Green  River  lawyer  generally  to  be),  had  traded 
for  a  horse  of  the  most  villanous  equanimity  of  temper  ever  known ;  in 


JOHN  H.  M'HENRr,  OF  HARTFORD,  KENTUCKY.  425 

fact  he  bore  persecution  with  a  degree  of  fortitude  and  resignation  that 
would  have  entitled  any  mortal  to  a  place  in  the  calendar  of  saints ;  he 
withstood  the  vigorous  application  of  whip,  spur,  and  what  is  much  more 
common  with  a  Green  River  Lawyer,  black  hickory,  with  a  firm  resolu- 
tion to  grjng  his  ain  f/ait,  despite  of  ail  these  appliances,  until  his  owner 
gave  up  the  contest,  and  settled  down  to  the  conclusion  that  if  he  was  not 
the  veritable,  he  was  at  least  like  the  said  Haggin,  and  not  to  be  hastened, 
and  the  horse  became  known  all  around  the  circuit  by  the  name  of  the 
said  Hagijin.  One  day  while  a  jovial  band  of  lawyers  were  travelling  the 
circuit  in  company  together,  Mr.  R.,  a  very  warm  and  decided  new  court 
man,  fell  in  with  them;  it  was  not  long  until  the  name  of  the  horse  was 
alluded  to.  Mr.  R.,  with  an  air  of  oflended  dignity,  and  a  voice  that 
would  seem  to  indicate  a  readiness  to  call  for  "  pistols  and  coffee  for  two," 
inquired,  "  Sir,  do  you  intend  the  name  of  your  horse  as  a  reflection  upon 
the  new  court  V  To  which  M'Henry  replied  with  an  air  of  naivete 
and  simplicity  that  cannot  be  described,  "  Oh  !  by  no  means,  sir  ;  /  only 
intend  it  as  a  reflection  upon  my  horseP  This  reply  was  perfectly  irre- 
sistible, and  the  woods  along  the  roadside  rang  with  shouts  of  laughter, 
in  which  the  dignified  Mr.  R.  was  himself  compelled  to  join,  and  even  the 
said  Hagyin  might  have  been  induced  to  enliven  his  speed  had  he  not 
been  a  horse  of  imperturbable  dulness. 

Mr.  M'Henry  is  fully  as  benevolent  and  charitable  as  any  prudent  man 
should  be.  He  is  ever  most  liberal  and  kind  to  real  objects  of  charity, 
and  none  more  ready  to  assist  the  sick  and  afflicted.  Ever  ready  to  lend 
aid  and  assistance  to  those  who  are  industrious  and  enterprising,  but  are 
deficient  in  means ;  and  none  contributes  more  freely  to  works  of  public 
utility. 

As  a  parent  and  master  he  is  kind  and  indulgent  to  a  fault,  but  it  is  to 
be  hoped  that  he  will  never  have  cause  to  regret  his  parental  kindness. 
He  is  now  surrounded  with  a  family  of  interesting  children,  who  seem  not 
disposed  to  take  advantage  of  his  parental  indulgences,  but  to  properly 
appreciate  it,  in  striving  to  imitate  the  good  example  set  them,  and  who 
bid  fair  to  become  useful  and  resj^ectable  members  of  society,  and  to  aid 
in  the  perpetuation  of  those  blessings  resulting  from  those  glorious  insti- 
tutions, in  the  erecting  and  securing  of  which  their  ancestors  have  acted 
no  inconsiderable  part. 


f    nitrip 


WKlIdli^DAJOfl    IRCDSSo 


or  f-ITTSFIELIi,  f-IKB     COUNT  ^ 


WILLIAM   ROSS,    OF    PITTSFIELD,    ILLINOIS.  427 

COL.    WILLIAM    ROSS, 

OF   PITTSFIELD,    ILLINOIS, 

Was  born  April  24th,  1Y92,  in  the  town  of  Monson,  Hampden  County, 
Massachusetts,  where  he  resided  till  the  age  of  thirteen.  His  father, 
Micah  Ross,  was  limited  in  means,  though  he  was  what  is  commonly 
termed  a  "good  liver,"  and  the  education  of  his  children  was  not 
of  the  best  kind.  In  1805,  the  elder  Ross  removed  to  Pittsfield,  Mass., 
where  the  subject  of  this  notice  dwelt  with  him  till  he  reached  his 
twentieth  year,  gaining  among  the  townspeople  a  reputation  for  industry 
and  perseverance,  and  likewise  of  success  in  his  general  pursuits.  Upon 
the  declaration  of  war  in  1812,  William  Ross  obtained  a  commission  as 
Ensign  in  the  21st  Regt.  U.  S.  Infantry,  commanded  by  Col.  E.  W.  Ripley, 
and  was  soon  after  ordered  on  recruiting  service.  In  the  spring  of  1813, 
lie  was  directed  to  unite  his  men  with  those  of  his  brother,  Capt.  Leonard 
Ross,  of  the  same  regiment,  at  Greenbush,  N.  Y.,  and  was  subsequently 
despatched  to  join  the  command  of  Major  Aspinwall,  about  five  hundred 
infantry  of  the  9th  Regt.,  who  had  been  ordered  to  take  up  a  forced 
march  for  Buffalo,  then  threatened  by  the  enemy's  forces.  Arrived  at 
Utica,  the  troops  were  met  by  an  express,  informing  them  of  the  capture 
and  destruction  of  Buffalo,  and  directing  their  immediate  march  to 
Sackett's  Harbor.  Accordingly,  proceeding  to  Oswego,  on  Lake  Ontario, 
they  embarked  in  fifty  open  row-boats,  and  set  out  for  the  harbor  ;  but 
hardly  had  they  made  Stoney  Island  than  they  heard  the  roar  of  cannon, 
and  discovered  the  British  fleet  with  gun-boats  and  Indian  canoes  in  the 
rear.  They  at  once  attempted  to  run  the  gauntlet  of  the  enemy's  armed 
vessels,  and,  rushing  amid  the  fire  of  the  gun-boats,  twenty-five  of  their 
own  frail  craft  succeeded  in  reaching  the  harbor,  the  remainder  being 
captured  by  the  British.  Captain  Ross  and  the  young  Ensign  were 
among  the  successful  ones. 

The  next  day,  the  29th  of  May,  1813,  took  place  the  memorable  battle 
of  Sackett's  Harbor,  in  which  the  brothers  led  about  one  hundred  men, 
and  in  which  five  hundred  Americans  drove  back  thirteen  hundred  British 
soldiers.  Of  the  detachment  commanded  by  the  Rosses,  one  third  was 
either  killed  or  wounded  in  the  conflict.  Where  every  officer  and  soldier 
was  brave  and  determined,  it  is  not  necessary  to  distinguish ;  suffice  it, 
that  William  Ross  was  at  his  proper  post,  encouraging  his  men,  and 
rendering  valuable  service  in  defence  of  the  harbor. 

Soon  after  this  battle,  the  Rosses  were  transferred  into  the  40th  Regt. 
Infantry,  and  ordered  to  the  seaboard,  where  the  Captain  took  command 
of  Fort  Warren  in  Boston  Harbor,  and  William  Ross  was  detached  to 
Marblehead,  to  drill  the  troops  of  that  post,  and  subsequently  removed  to 
the  Gurnet  Fort,  near  Plymouth,  Mass.,  where  he  remained  till  the  close 
of  the  war.  He  then  returned  to  Pittsfield,  and  set  up  the  business  of  a 
blacksmith,  hiring  workmen,  however,  as  he  possessed  no  knowledge  of 
the  trade  himself.  This  business  he  carried  on  for  several  years,  during 
which  time  he  was  elected  constable  of  the  town,  and  discharged  ihe 


428  SKETCHES    OF    EMINENT    AMERICANS. 

duties  of  that  office  with  an  energy  and  punctuality  that  won  the  esteem 
of  his  fellow-citizens. 

In  the  summer  of  1820,  in  company  with  four  brothers,  and  a  few  other 
families,  he  started  for  what  was  then  known  as  the  Far  West,  the  state 
of  Illinois,  on  the  Mississippi  Bottom.  They  arrived  safely  at  the  head 
waters  of  the  Alleghany  river,  and  there  procuring  boats  for  their 
families,  horses,  and  waggons,  set  out  to  descend  the  stream,  then  in  a 
very  low  stage  of  water.  Difficulties  here  began  to  assail  the  little  band. 
Again  and  again  their  boats  ran  hard  aground,  rendering  it  necessary 
for  the  sturdy  emigrants  to  rush  into  the  water,  and  wield  their  pries  and 
levers  with  a  will.  However,  they  were  not  to  be  disheartened,  but  by 
dint  of  perseverance  succeeded  in  reaching  Pittsburg,  after  fourteen 
days  of  unremitting  exertion.  Here  they  entered  upon  the  broad  and 
beautiful  Ohio,  which  bore  them  pleasantly  upon  its  ample  bosom,  per- 
mitting them  to  review  at  leisure  the  toils  and  sufterings  endm-ed  upon  the 
Alleghany. 

In  a  few  weeks  they  arrived  at  Shawneetown,  situated  above  the  mouth 
of  the  Ohio,  in  Illinois,  at  which  point  they  took  leave  of  their  water 
palaces,  and  started  with  waggons  and  teams  for  their  place  of  destina- 
tion, near  the  Mississippi  river.  At  Upper  Alton,  which  they  reached 
in  due  season,  there  was  but  one  house,  where  a  city  now  stands.  It  was 
occupied  by  Major  Hunter,  and  here  the  company  secured  quarters  for 
their  families,  while  they  went  in  search  of  their  intended  location. 

At  the  mouth  of  the  Illinois  river  they  came  across  an  Indian  camp, 
where  they  procured  two  canoes,  split  puncheons  of  plank  and  laid  across 
them,  and  thus  safely  ferried  over  their  wagons.  The  horses  were  made 
to  swim  alongside  of  the  canoes.  They  then  crossed  the  Bluff,  and  pro- 
ceeded to  the  Mississippi  Bottom,  at  the  point  where  Gilead  (in  Calhoun 
Co.)  is  now  situated  ;  then  continued  up  the  Bottom,  marking  the  trees  as 
they  went,  for  there  were  no  roads,  and  nothing  to  guide  them  but  an 
occasional  Indian  trail.  At  length  they  arrived  in  Township  6  south, 
.5  west,  about  six  miles  east  of  the  Mississippi,  in  the  tract  appropriated 
for  military  counties.  This  beautiful  prairie  land  charmed  the  emigrants, 
and  they  at  once  set  to  work  their  energies  and  constructed  a  camp  to 
shelter  themselves  while  preparing  quarters  for  their  families.  No  time 
was  lost  in  throwing  up  four  rough  log-cabins,  intended  to  form  the 
immediate  settlement ;  for  there  were  not  more  than  five  white  men 
within  fifty  miles  of  this  location,  east  of  the  river.  All  being  prepared, 
the  pioneers  returned  for  their  families,  and  shortly  after  took  permanent 
possession  of  their  habitations.  The  privations  and  sufferings  endured  by 
this  little  band  in  the  first  years  of  settlement  need  not  be  particularized. 

At  this  time  the  Legislature  was  in  session  at  Vandalia,  and  learning 
of  the  location  of  these  emigrants,  they  took  measures  to  lay  off  and  form 
the  county  of  Pike,  embracing  all  the  territory  north  and  west  of  the 
Illinois  river,  and  including  what  are  now  known  as  the  cities  of  Chicago, 
Peoria,  and  Galena.  At  the  first  election  held  in  this  vast  territory,  there 
were  but  thirty-five  votes  polled,  including  those  of  the  French  at 
Chicago.  Since  then  more  than  fifty  counties  have  been  created  out  of 
it,  and  over  fifty  thousand  votes  are  now  cast,  while  the  population 
continues  to  increase  rapidly  every  year. 


WILLIAM    ROSS,    OF    PITTSFIELD,    ILLINOIS.  429 

For  a  while  the  prospects  of  our  settlers  were  very  flattering,  but  after- 
wards sickness  and  death  entered  their  ranks.  Colonel  Ross  lost  his  first 
wife,  one  brother,  and  several  of  the  company  the  first  year.  Subse- 
quently the  Colonel  visited  New  York,  and  married  a  Miss  Adams  of 
that  state,  after  which  he  returned  to  Illinois,  laid  out  a  town  embracing 
his  first  location,  and  named  it  Atlas.  There  had  previously  been  esta- 
blished a  post-office,  called  Ross  settlement,  but  this  designation  gave  way 
to  the  one  now  adopted  by  the  Colonel,  who  soon  commenced  improving 
a  fiirm,  and  built  a  mill,  which  was  much  needed  at  the  time.  His 
eflbrts  were  followed  by  the  blessing  of  a  kind  Providence ;  and  though 
he  arrived  in  Illinois  a  poor  man,  he  speedily,  through  economy  and  un- 
tiring energy,  began  to  realize  an  increase  of  property  and  notoriety. 
He  became  Judge  of  Probate  for  the  county  of  Pike,  which  office  he  held 
for  many  years,  enjoying  the  unbounded  confidence  of  the  people.  He 
also  served  as  clerk  of  the  circuit  and  county  courts,  and  filled  with  credit 
many  minor  offices,  among  which  were  Colonel  of  Militia  and  Justice  of 
the  Peace ;  in  all  of  which  he  won  the  esteem  of  his  fellow-citizens. 

In  April,  1832,  at  the  commencement  of  the  Black-Hawk  war,  Col. 
Ross  was  ordered  by  the  Governor  to  raise  a  company  out  of  his  regiment 
forthwith,  and  join  the  forces  at  Bardstown.  He  received  the  order  on 
Friday,  and  on  the  following  Tuesday  presented  himself  at  the  rendezvous 
in  Bardstown,  with  double  the  number  of  men  designated  in  the  requisi 
tion.  He  was  selected  as  aide  to  the  Commanding  General,  served  with 
much  popularity  throughout  the  campaign,  and  then  returned  once  more 
to  private  life,  devoting  himself  to  building  operations  and  the  improve- 
ment of  the  country  where  he  resided.  Prosperity  still  smiled  upon  his 
every  effort.  In  1835  he  was  elected  to  the  Legislature  of  Illinois,  and 
while  a  member  of  this  body  procured  the  passage  of  a  law  peculiarly 
adapted  to  the  Military  Tract,  which  afterwards  proved  of  great  import- 
ance to  that  section  of  country.  We  are  assured  that  he  then  possessed 
as  much  influence  in  the  Legislature  as  any  other  member.  Col,  Ross 
was  subsequently  chosen  to  the  Senate  several  terms,  serving  five  or  six 
sessions  in  that  body,  in  one  of  which,  during  the  illness  of  the  Lieut.- 
Governor,  he  was  selected  and  served  as  speaker  pro  tern.,  giving  great 
satisfaction  to  the  senators  by  his  prompt  method  of  dispatching  the 
public  business. 

The  Colonel  has  been  successfully  engaged  in  mercantile  pursuits  for 
many  years,  and  in  this  connexion  has  been  distinguished  for  firmness, 
reliability,  and  sound  judgment.  In  private  life  he  is  a  warm  friend,  and 
vvilliug,  moreover,  to  forgive  his  enemies.  Punctual  in  his  business  rela- 
tions, governed  by  strict  integrity,  and  zealous  in  all  his  labors,  he  has 
won  the  respect  and  esteem  of  his  fellow-citizens  in  every  walk.  He 
was  wont  to  remark  that  his  father's  advice  to  his  children  in  their  youth, 
was  to  be  prompt  and  true  in  all  their  dealings  with  their  fellow-men ; 
and  he  endeavored  studiously  to  carry  out  in  his  life  these  excellent 
parental  precepts — a  habit,  doubtless,  which  contributed  much  to  the 
establishment  of  the  unlimited  credit  and  confidence  which  for  many 
years  he  has  enjoyed  with  all  who  have  known  him. 

Col.  Ross  has  two  sons  aiid  two  daughters,  whose  education  is  receiv- 
ing his  closest  attention.     Himself  and  wife  are  members  of  the  First 


430  SKETCHES    OF    EMINENT    AMERICANS. 

Congregational  Church  in  Pittsfield,  III,  where  he  now  resides,  and  where 
a  fine  meeting-house,  supplied  with  a  good  bell,  now  ornaments  the  square 
— a  standing  memento  of  his  generosity  as  the  donor.  Retired  from  an 
unusually  active  business  life,  and  dwelling  upon  his  farm,  about  one  mile 
east  of 'the  town,  surrounded  by  the  smiles  of  his  family,  we  trust  he  will 
long  enjoy  the  fruits  of  his  honest  industry  and  enterprise. 


HENRY   M.    BASH,    OF    BALTIMORE,    MARYLAND.  481 

HENRY    M.    BASH, 

OF    BALTIMORE,    MARYLAND. 

Henry  M.  Bash  was  born  in  Washington  County,  Maryland,  on  the  29th 
December,  1801.  In  1811,  his  father,  Michael  Bash,  a  respectable  farmer 
in  moderate  circumstances,  from  motives  of  pecuniary  interest,  removed  to 
Frederick  County,  in  the  same  state,  where  in  1817  he  died,  leaving  a 
small  estate,  and  a  virtuous  and  honest  reputation,  as  a  legacy  to  his  chil- 
dren. Soon  after  that  event  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  following  the  in- 
cHnation  of  his  youthful  mind,  obtained  a  clerkship  in  a  country  store  in 
an  obscure  village  of  Frederick  County,  where  he  remained  for  several  years, 
serving  the  interests  of  his  employer,  during  that  time,  with  that  fidelity, 
attention,  and  high  sense  of  duty,  which  he  afterwards  so  distinctly  por- 
tra3'ed  in  all  matters  of  business  intrusted  to  his  care,  in  which  the  inte- 
rests of  others  were  involved.  As  he  grew  older  and  began  to  see  the 
contracted  sphere  of  his  employer's  business,  and  the  limited  opportuni- 
ties around  him  for  the  improvement  of  his  own  condition,  he  resolved  to 
seek  his  fortune  in  a  wider  field  ;  and  accordingly,  in  1823,  settled  in  the 
City  of  Baltimore.  His  integrity  of  character  and  business  qualifications 
soon  secured  for  him  a  clerkship  in  a  dry-goods  establishment  in  that  city, 
where  he  remained,  enjoying  the  confidence  of  his  employer,  for  several 
years. 

In  1825,  controlled  by  a  gradually  increasing  distaste  for  the  dry-goods 
business,  he  threw  aside  the  yardstick,  and  formed  a  co-partnership  with 
a  gentleman  then  engaged  in  the  exchange  and  commission  business. 
This  association  continued  without  interruption  for  eighteen  years,  and 
laid  the  foundation  of  a  large  fortune. 

Since  then  he  has  not  been  engaged  in  active  business-life ;  but  has 
kept  his  means  constantly  employed,  not  only  in  beautifying  the  city  in 
which  he  lives,  by  the  erection  of  dwellings  remarkable  for  their  architec- 
tural taste  and  comeliness,  but  has  contributed  hberally  to  various  enter- 
prises undertaken  to  increase  the  trade  and  prosperity  of  Baltimore,  and 
to  develope  the  resources  of  his  native  state. 

Few  men  in  Baltimore,  who  have  retired  from  active  business  pursuits 
upon  a  fortune,  have  afterwards  kept  up  a  more  lively  and  general  inte- 
rest in  the  mercantile  welfare  of  the  city  than  Mr.  Bash.  When  others 
have  grown  restive  and  impatient  under  the  tardy  growth  of  her  com- 
merce, as  compared  with  the  rapid  commercial  strides  which  have  been 
made  by  her  more  northern  sister  cities,  he  has  always  inspired  hope,  and 
counselled  patience  and  perseverance  as  the  two  great  principles  best  cal- 
culated to  promote  success.  He  is  now  a  director  in  one  of  the  banks  of 
Baltimore,  as  well  as  a  director  in  one  of  her  fire  insurance  companies — 
positions  which  he  has  never  desired,  but  which  have  been  conferred  upon 
him,  in  consequence  of  his  peculiar  fitness  for  them.  He  is  also,  and  has 
been  for  many  years,  a  vestryman  in  the  largest  Protestant  Episcopal 
congregation  worshipping  in  Baltimore;  and  his  Christian  deportment 
and  unblemished  character  have  secured  for  him  a  high  place  in  the  con- 
fidence and  affections  of  his  pastor. 


432  SKETCHES    OF    EMINENT    AMERICANS. 

The  reader  will  observe  that  we  have  alluded  to  no  remarkable  events 
in  this  notice  of  Mr.  Bash.  His  life  has  neither  been  eventful  nor  bril- 
liant. He  has  never  shone  out,  with  the  suddenness  and  splendour  of  a 
meteor,  to  pass  oft'  again  into  impenetrable  obscurity  and  forgetfulness ; 
but  his  course  through  life  has  been  one  unbroken  progress  in  fortune, 
and  in  the  esteem  and  confidence  of  his  fellow-men.  Nor  do  we  intro- 
duce him  here  on  account  of  political  prominence,  or  by  virtue  of  services 
rendered  the  state  in  a  public  or  official  capacity  ;  but  because  of  the 
sterling  character  of  the  man. 

Of  a  quiet  and  retiring  disposition,  he  has  rather  avoided  than  sought 
after  public  favor  ;  and  that  desire  for  political  distinction  which  animates 
the  hearts  of  so  many  of  our  citizens,  who  are  qualified  by  circumstances, 
intelligence,  and  ability,  to  be  intrusted  with  important  powers,  has  never 
exerted  the  slightest  influence  over  him.  Of  modest  deportment  and  un- 
assuming manners,  he  has  striven  more  to  avoid  the  notice  of  men  than 
to  attract  their  attention ;  and  of  late  years  has  sought  his  chief  happi- 
ness in  the  quietude  and  repose  of  domestic  life,  there  cultivating,  by  pre- 
c!ept  and  example,  those  virtues  of  the  heart  which  most  adorn  and  enno- 
ble the  human  character  ;  yet  we  can  say,  from  a  long  and  intimate  inter- 
course with  him,  that  few  men  possess  a  sounder  and  more  rehable  judg- 
ment, or  administrative  talents  of  a  higher  order  than  he.  Had  liis  powers 
been  active  in  the  service  of  his  country,  they  would,  doubtless,  have  re- 
flected high  honors  upon  him. 

With  a  singular  ability  to  fix  his  mind  upon  one  subject  until  he  has 
thoroughly  sifted  it,  he  has  rarely  drawn  erroneous  conclusions,  or  com- 
mitted a  striking  error  of  judgment.  Indeed,  the  precaution  with  which 
he  gives  an  opinion,  even  upon  subjects  of  ordinary  import,  not  only 
shows  how  highly  he  estimates  the  value  of  opinion,  but  has  rendered  his 
judgment  a  beacon  to  those  of  his  friends  who  have  had  the  opportunity 
of  testing  its  worth. 

A  distinguishing  trait  in  the  character  of  Mr.  Bash  is  his  pubHc  and 
private  benevolence.  Of  his  public  benevolence  there  is  ample  evidence 
in  the  liberal  contributions  which  he  has  made  to  many  of  the  churches 
and  charitable  institutions  of  his  adopted  city.  With  no  other  influences 
to  operate  upon  him  save  the  promptings  of  a  generous  heart,  he  has  al- 
ways given  for  the  sake  of  the  object,  and  not  for  selfish  purposes,  or  the 
applause  of  men.  Of  bis  private  charities  we  would  not  speak  here. 
The  man  who  is  benevolent  in  secret,  and  prefers  not  to  have  the  eyes  of 
the  world  resting  upon  him  in  the  dispensation  of  his  charities,  would 
doubtless  feel  better  satisfied  to  have  the  knowledge  of  his  benefa(;tions  pass 
with  him  to  the  tomb. 

As  a  man,  he  stands  high  in  the  confidence  and  respect  of  the  commu- 
nity in  which  he  resides.  Possessed  of  the  clearest  conceptions  of  honor 
and  integrity,  he  has  ever  maintained  a  character  above  the  reproaches 
and  slanders  of  the  world.  Prompt  and  reliable  in  his  engagements,  and 
with  a  scrupulous  regard  for  his  word,  he  has  never  been  known  to  make 
a  promise  which  he  did  not  strictly  observe.  The  character  of  such  a 
man  as  Henry  M.  Bash  is  worthy  of  study  and  emulation. 


^^a_vei-bT  JC.B.fltte,&am  a.  DagierrertJ?^ 


]FMEin)IEM.I(CIK    (Cffi-Eir, 


OF   BALTIMORE.,    JMRYLjmD . 


Smwye^-Br BwanathiaiZ-  SlatAa  of  Emimnt.  Arrj-naais 


FREDERICK    CREY,    OF    BALTIMORE,    MARYLAND.  433 

FREDERICK    CREY, 

OF      BALTIMORE,     MARYLAND. 

Frederick,  son  of  Arnold  Ciey,  was  born  in  the  village  of  TJhlroth,  in 
the  department  of  Cologne,  on  the  1st  January,  1*778,  was  married  on 
12th  July,  1800,  and  arrived  in  Baltimore  in  the  year  1804.  By  profes- 
sion a  stone-mason  and  pavior,  he  has  through  all  the  vicissitudes  of  the 
times,  pursued  and  does  still  pursue  the  latter  business,  and  stands  as  the 
venerated  father  of  the  profession  in  Baltimore. 

He  has  also  the  gratification  to  see  among  his  strongest  competitors  in 
the  same  branch  of  business,  several  who  have  arrived  at  respectability 
and  wealth,  to  whose  prosperity  and  influence  he  has  been  mainly  acces- 
sary. Mr.  Crey,  in  the  seventy -fifth  year  of  his  age,  and  his  venerable 
consort  are  now  living.  They  have  been  married  for  fifty-three  yeai-s, 
have  had  ten  children,  and  raised  as  many  more.  They  have  also  thirty-five 
grand  and  two  great-grand-children  ;  five  of  his  daughters  are  married 
and  comfortably  situated  in  life;  his  eldest  son  died  some  years  ago;  Im 
youngest  son,  named  after  himself,  and  much  beloved  by  his  friends, 
entered  into  the  service  of  his  country  in  the  late  Mexican  war,  and 
after  having  passed  through  the  campaign  with  honor  to  himself  and 
family,  died  in  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  on  his  return  to  his  native  city. 
Henry,  his  second  son  and  co-partner  in  business,  died  on  the  19th  Feb- 
ruary last,  much  regretted  by  those  who  knew  him. 

The  above  details  relating  to  the  children  of  Mr.  Crey  are  stated  here, 
more  through  the  motive  to  show  that  he  also  has  been  subject  to  those 
incidents  of  the  human  family  which  bring  care  and  affliction  to  the 
heart,  than  to  write  the  history  of  his  children,  instead  of  his  own. 

We  would,  on  this  occasion,  deem  it  useless  to  notice  one  so  well  known 
as  Mr.  Crey  is  to  the  citizens  of  Baltimore,  in  the  various  positions  in  which 
he  has  and  does  still  participate,  were  it  not  under  the  consideration,  that 
the  example  of  good  and  honest  men  should  be  held  up  to  posterity  for 
imitation. 

Mr.  Crey,  in  the  thirteenth  year  of  his  age,  lost  his  father,  and  from  hia 
early  years  paid  that  attention  to  the  necessities  of  his  mother  and  brothers, 
which  is  required  by  the  obligations  of  a  dutiful  s6d.  He  left  his  por- 
tion of  his  paternal  estate  to  his  family  in  Europe,  and  after  his  arrival 
in  this  country,  remitted  to  his  mother  as  occasion  might  require.  As 
there  are  some  prominent  traits  in  the  character  of  every  good  man, 
which  render  him  useful  to  his  fellow-men  and  exemplary  to  society, 
we  will  endeavor  to  show,  by  the  following  statement  of  facts,  that  the 
subject  of  this  memoir  is  not  unworthy  the  honorable  position  which  ho 
holds  in  the  biography  of  our  respected  author. 

It  is  true,  as  before  stated,  that  Mr.  Crey  is  not  an  American  by  birth, 
but  the  sequel  of  this  memoir  will  fully  prove,  that  a  plant,  although 
from  a  foreign  shore,  may  prosper,  thrive,  and  impart  its  usefulness  in 
our  ftiir  land,  as  much  so  as  one  of  native  growth. 

The  strongest  features  displayed  in  the  character  of  Mr.  Crey,  are  hia 
attention  and  devotedness  to  his  obligations  to  his  Creator  from  hi» 

VOL.  ui.  28 


434  SKETCHES    OF    EMINEXT    AMERICANS, 

early  years,  and  liis  generosity  and  inunificence  towards  his  fellow-men, 
without  distinction  as  to  creed  or  profession,  and  of  which  hundreds  now 
in  Ixdtimore  can  bear  ample  testimony. 

His  individual  worth  as  a  good  citizen  and  patriot  is  fully  displayed 
towards  the  many  foreigners  who  have  come  to  that  city  pennyless,  and  in 
distress,  to  whom  he  has  given  employment,  and  some  of  whom,  under  his 
auspices,  are  now  comfortably  situated. 

Possessed  of  industry,  energy,  and  good  natural  faculties,  which  he 
still  retains  in  an  eminent  degree  at  his  advanced  age,  Mr.  Crey,  in  defi- 
ance of  the  misfortunes  incident  to  business  through  the  course  of  so 
many  years,  has  accumulated  to  himself  a  comfortable  estate,  from  which 
he  still  imparts  the  blessings  which  have  been  intrusted  to  him,  by  feed- 
ing the  hungry,  clothing  the  naked,  and  ministering  to  the  wants  of 
distressed  humanity  in  its  varied  forms. 

As  relates  to  his  public  usefulness,  the  recoids  of  Baltimore  will  suflS- 
ciently  establish  it.  Mr.  .Crey  has  been  connected  with  the  public,  im- 
provements of  Baltimore  for  the  last  forty-eight  years,  and  probably  more 
work  has  been  executed  under  his  immediate  supervision,  than  that  of 
any  individual  within  its  boundaries.  He  has  also  displayed  his  patriot- 
ism as  a  citizen,  having  been  attached  to  several  volunteer  corps  for 
some  thirteen  years.  When  the  capital  of  our  country  was  invaded  by  a 
foreign  foe,  he  marched  to  its  defence,  and  although  a  defeat  was  the  result, 
Mr.  Crey  siill  bore  a  full  portion  of  the  labors  of  the  conflict.  For  the 
pm-pose  of  preventing  the  enemy  from  seizing- the  baggage  of  the  Ameri- 
can army,  he  was  deputed  to  take  it  in  charge,  and  by  a  circuitous 
route,  through  several  adjoining  counties,  to  take  it  to  Baltimore,  the 
next  anticipated  place  of  attack.  Having  performed  this  arduous  duty 
and  arrived  in  Baltimore  after  an  absence  of  some  eight  or  ten  days  from 
the  city  and  his  family,  he  again  went  to  the  field  of  battle  in  defence 
of  his  adopted  city.  He  belonged  to  Captain  Sadler's  rifle  corps,  which 
was  ordered  to  advance  some  distance  in  front  of  the  American  line,  to 
take  possession  of  a  logdiouse,  situated  between  the  two  armies ;  the 
enemy  advancing  and  firing,  the  company  was  ordered  to  set  fire  to  the 
house  and  retreat,  which  order  was  executed. 

On  coming  out  of,  and  a  few  paces  from  the  house,  Mr.  Crey's  cap  was 
taken  off,  and  two  of  his  comrades  knocked  down  by  a  rocket  from  the 
British.  They,  however,  recovered,  an<l  he,  between  the  fire  of  both 
armies,  with  the  balls  whistling  around  him,  reached  the  American  side 
with  difiiculty. 

Mr.  Crev  is  one,  and  perhaps  now,  the  oldest  of  the  association  of  the 
defenders  of  Baltimore ;  and,  like  the  sturdy  oak  on  the  banks  of  the 
stream,  entwined  with  the  ivy  around,  still  lives  in  the  enjoyment  of  the 
blessings  of  the  domestic  circle,  so  fully  imparted  by  the  kind  attentions 
of  his  amiable  and  venerated  partner  of  fifty-three  years,  and  as  a  strong 
exemplification  of  the  fact  that  he  who  trusts  in  God,  and  does  His  holy 
will,  will  not  be  deserted  by  Him. 


ra-ved  V  J.C  BiatreSoB!  a.Dagie"''"'^'' 


FROFESSOROrmmCIimS&IlidCTICE  Or 

or  FOE  wnsswGTatf  mnyERsmr.  oiSiLLiiMOitE.  Mdiai^xj 


^Twravo^  forSuiarapiuoai/Sheahai  of 


JOHN    C.    S.    MONKUR,  OF    BALTIMOUE,    MARYLAND.  435 


JOHN    C.    S.    MONKUR, 

PROFESSOR    OF    PRINCIPLES     AND    PRACTICE    OF    MEDICINE     AND     CLINICAL 
MEDICINE    IX    THE    WASHINGTON    UNIVERSITY    OF    BALTIMORE. 

Dr.  Johnson  observes,  in  the  Life  of  Sydenhaiii,  that  "  there  is  no  in- 
stance of  any  man,  ^whose  hfe  has  been  minutely  narrated,  that  did  not  in 
every  pai-t  of  it  discover  the  same  proportion  of  intellectual  vigor."  There 
may  be  exceptions  to  this  rule,  but  the  biography  of  Doctor  Monkur  does 
not  furnish  one ;  on  the  contrary,  like  the  illustrious  physician  whose  life 
Dr.  Johnson  is  presenting,  the  subject  of  our  notice  furnishes  a  striking 
proof  of  the  fact.  ^        * 

Dr.  John  Cavendish  Smith  Monkur  was  born  in  Baltimore,  December 
31st,  1800;  his  parents  were  of  Scotch  and  English  descent,  and  their 
pecuniary  circumstances  were  ea-sy.  At  an  early  age  John  was  placed  in 
the  common  schools  of  this  city,  and  evinced  a  great  fondness  and  atten- 
tion to  his  studies.  Until  he  was  thirteen  years  of  age  his  time  was  con- 
stantly occupied  in  school  discipline. 

The  boy  is  the  father  of  the  man,  has  been  often  said  ;  and  young 
Monkur\s  early  studies  shadow  forth  the  industry  and  manliness,  and,  if 
we  might  use  the  expression,  enterprise  of  his  mental  organization ;  for  at 
his  early  age  his  progress  in  the  science  of  navigation  and  lunar  observa- 
tions was  so  remarkable  as  to  induce  his  teacher  to  make  his  scholar  his 
assistant  teacher,  in  which  position  he  continued  two  years.  Here  the 
future  lecturer  on  medical  science  first  learned  the  art  of  instructing  others, 
in  which  he  showed  great  aptness,  and  many  of  the  ship-masters  of  the 
port  of  Baltimore,  to  this  day,  will  tell  that  the  lad  Monkur  first  taught 
them  navigation. 

Always  industrious,  even  as  a  boy,  John  devoted  his  Saturday  evenings, 
and  whatever  other  leisure  hours  he  might  have,  to  the  study  of  natural  his- 
tory. He  was  especiall}'  fond  of  comparative  anatomy,  and  caught  at  every 
opportunity  of  making  dissections  in  that  department ;  for  which  purpose  he 
so  fi'equently  obtruded  upon  the  premises  of  his  neighbors  for  a  cat  or  dog 
not  always  a  stray  one,  but  sometimes  a  favorite,  that  it  became  a  caution 
whenever  he  was  seen  about,  and  particularly  among  the  maiden  ladies — 
"Take  care  of  your  cat — here  comes  John  Monkur  after  cats  and  dogs  for 
skeletons."  The  future  anatomist  had  in  fact  erected  a  considerable  ana- 
tomical museum  in  the  kitchen  garret  of  his  home,  and  there  the  mortal 
remains  of  more  than  one  feline  and  canine  favorite  was  suspended  long 
after  the  wonder  as  to  what  had  become  of  them  had  ceased,  and  new 
favorites,  destined  to  supply  their  places  by  the  fireside,  and  finally  to 
crowd  them  in  the  museum,  were  installed  on  the  hearth-rug.  This  fond- 
ness for  anatomical  pursuits,  as  it  attracted  the  attention  of  the  neighbor- 
hood, could  not  have  escaped  the  parental  eye  or  ear.  It  in  fact  induced 
his  father  to  direct  his  attention  to  the  study  of  medicine.  As  a  prelimi- 
nary preparation  he  placed  his  son  in  the  extensive  drug  and  apothecary 
establishment  of  the  Messrs.  Sweetzer  and  Keever,  in  Baltimore  street, 
where  he  remained  twelve  months. 

With  a  view  of  indulging  in  his  favorite  study  of  anatomy,  in  August, 


436  SKETCHES    OF    EMINENT    AMERICANS. 

1816,  young  Monkur  became  a  pupil  in  the  office  of  Doctor  Cosmo  G. 
Stevenson.  At  this  time  his  father's  pecuniary  circumstances  were  inde- 
pendent, and  afforded  him  every  facihty  for  the  advantageous  prosecution 
of  his  studies.  This  advantage,  however,  did  not  continue  long,  his  father 
became  involved  in  sureties  for  others,  and  was  soon  bereft  of  all  his  pro- 
perty, and  was  obliged  to  leave  his  city  and  family  to  avoid  imprison- 
ment. At  this  time  the  subject  of  our  memoir  was  left  entirely  to  his 
own  resources,  and  for  three  years  he  was  without  any  assistance  or  sup- 
port, save  what  was  obtained  from  a  small  class  of  night  scholars,  an  oc- 
casional gift  from  his  preceptor,  and  the  receipts  for  fugitive  pieces  of 
writing.  He  suffered  many  privations,  and  was  embarrassed  by  many 
difficulties,  but,  undaunted,  he  continued  to  pursue  his  studies  with  tho 
closest  application.  In  consequence  of  his  inability  to  clothe  himself  re- 
spectably, he  spent  tfe  Sabbaths  of  three  successive  years  closely  in  his 
room.  He  has  been  heard  to  say  that  he  did  not  remember  being  in  the 
street  on  the  Sabbath  in  all  that  time. 

And  we  have  often  heard  a  lady  say,  who  avers  that  under  Providence 
she  has  more  than  once  owed  her  life  to  Dr.  Monkur's  skill;  that  when 
by  her  bed-side,  and  anxious  to  enliven  her  mind,  the  Doctor  would  laugh 
and  ask  her  if  she  remembered  how  she  used  to  dodge  him  when  he 
wished  to  play  the  beau  towards  her  in  her  girlhood  on  account  of  his 
toilet. 

These  things  should  be  recorded,  that  all  young  men  similarly  situated 
should  be  encouraged  thereby  to  keep  up  heart  of  hope.  Volumes  have 
been  written  on  the  pursuit  of  knowledge  under  difficulties,  and  examples 
are  every  day  occurring  before  the  eyes  of  the  youthful  student  to 
encourage  him  to  endure  and  persevere. 

"  The  steep  where  Fame's  proud  summit  shines  afar," 

is  a  toilsome  one,  and  while  the  faint-hearted  and  the  fitful  fall  off"  by  the 
way,  no  matter  what  may  be  their  resources  and  aids,  for  there  is  no 
'•royal  road  to  learning,"  those  who  have  energies  within  themselves  and 
the  consciousness  of  capacity,  but  cry  out  "Excelsior,"  and  advance  with 
a  keener  determination. 

For  want  of  means  our  student  was  compelled  to  delay  the  benefits  of 
instruction  in  the  medical  college,  and  he  continued  his  studies  for  three 
years,  privately,  before  entering  the  medical  department  of  the  University 
of  Maryland  as  a  pupil.  He  lost  no  advantages  during  this  delay,  but 
privately  prepared  himself  in  anatomical  knowledge,  and  through  the 
influence  of  the  late  Charles  K.  Wirgraam,  merchant,  of  Baltimore,  and 
his  preceptor,  Dr.  Stevenson,  he  was  admitted  prosector  to  the  late  Dr. 
John  D.  Godman,  who  was  then  demonstrator  of  anatomy  in  the 
University  of  Maryland,  and  whose  early  death  was  such  a  loss  to  medical 
science.  This  position  gave  our  student  his  medical  lectures  free,  and 
enabled  him  to  graduate  and  receive  his  medical  diploma  in  March,  1822. 

But  before  this,  in  1819,  the  yellow  fever  fell  upon  Baltimore.  It 
brought  terror  and  dismay  to  the  inhabitants,  from  its  extent  and 
fatality.  All  who  were  able  deserted  the  city,  and  many  of  the  resident 
physicians  took  to  flight.  In  the  worst  period  of  the  epidemic,  when 
there  was  a  great  want  of  medical  assistance,  at  tho  age  of  nineteen  years 


JOHN    C.    S.    MONKUR,  OF    BALTIMORE,    MARYLAND.  437 

young  Monkur  left  his  preceptor's  office  in  the  town,  and  repaired  to  Fells 
Point,  the  seat  of  tlie  disease,  and  here  devoted  his  whole  time  and 
enei-gies  to  the  relief  of  the  afflicted. 

He  remained  to  the  close  of  the  epidemic.  To  his  devoted  and  tiying 
.•services  in  their  hour  of  need,  his  fellow-citizens  bore  loud  and  strong 
testimony.  The  Mayor  and  City  Council  of  Baltimore  passed  resolu- 
tions thanking  him  for  his  zeal  and  devotion  to  the  sick  and  dying,  and 
compensating  him  for  his  services.  It  was  during  the  months  of  August 
and  September  that  the  fever  raged  with  such  fatality  as  to  prest-nt 
thirty  to  forty  cases  daily.  Sad,  indeed,  were  the  many  heart-rending 
pcenes  our  youthful  practitioner  witnessed.  It  would  take  a  volume  to 
record  them.  His  attention  on  the  sick  was  incessant  day  and  night. 
Notwithstanding  the  continuous  day  and  life  labors  of  the  late  Rev.  John 
Moranville,  and  the  late  Peter  Foy,'Esq.,  of  the  Board  of  Health,  whose 
services  can  never  be  forgotten  by  the  people  of  Fells  Point,  there  was  a 
great  want  of  assistance,  which  obliged  young  Monkur  to  fulfil  the  double 
duty  of  nurse  and  physician.  In  many  houses  every  inmate  was  ill. 
Their  drinks  and  nourishments  had  to  be  prepared  for  them.  In  many 
of  his  visits  our  young  practitioner  would  find  his  patients  entirely  un- 
cared  for  but  by  hims'elf,  with  their  faces,  necks,  and  shoulders  covered 
with  black  vomit  and  the  blood  which  had  oozed  from  their  mouth  and 
gums  through  the  night,  presenting  a  distressing  and  horrid  spectacle. 
These  were  washed  and  left  comfortable.  In  other  houses  the  whole 
family  had  died,  leaving  no  friends  to  prepare  them  for  the  grave.  Fre- 
quently no  aid  could  be  obtained  to  place  them  in  their  coffins,  except 
the  assistance  of  the  "  Black  Sexton  Hearseboy,"  and  they  were,  for  want 
of  physical  strength,  obliged  to  tumble  the  bodies  down  stairs  or  out  of 
the  windows,  inclose  them  in  their  coflans,  and  drag  them  to  the  hearse. 
During  the  epidemic  young  Monkur  was  twice  called  upon  by  the  Mayor 
of  the  city,  the  late  John  Montgomery,  Esq.,  and  requested  to  meet  in 
"consultation"  the  then  Professor  Potter  and  the  late  Dr.  Brown.  His 
diffidence  made  him  at  first  refuse,  but  he  at  last  consented  to  do  so  at  the 
solicitation  of  a  number  of  prominent  merchants,  who  felt  assured  that 
these  gentlemen  might  be  profited  in  their  practice  by  his  greater  experi- 
ence in  the  observation  and  treatment  of  this  fever  At  the  close  of  the 
epidemic,  his  friendly  associations  in  so  many  families,  general  intercourse 
with  the  people,  and  his  reputation  for  success  in  the  treatment  of  fever, 
placed  him  in  the  extensive  and  active  practical  duties  of  his  profession. 

In  1822,  after  six  years'  pupilage,  the  subject  of  our  memoir  graduated 
in  the  University  of  Maryland,  presenting  a  Latin  Thesis,  entitled, 
"  Dissertatio  de  prohabilitate  seriei  vasoriuii  in  oeconomia  animali 
(xisteidium-ad  aerem  secernenJ am  destinatamP  On  the  reception  ot  his 
diploma  he  found  himself  in  a  lucrative  practice,  which  continued  to  in- 
crease daily  in  patients  and  profits.  In  1823,  Dr.  Monkur  was  appointed 
physician  to  the  Baltimore  Eastern  Dispensary,  and  in  this  year  and  the  next 
he  fulfilled  his  duties  with  satisfaction  to  the  directors  of  the  institution. 

In  1828,  Dr.  Monkur  planned  and  formed  a  society  for  the  cultivation 
of  the  vine,  entitled,  "  The  Maryland  Society  for  the  Cultivation  of  the 
Vine."  At  a  meeting  called  for  the  purpose,  he  delivered  an  address 
upon  the  advantages  of  the  cultivation  of  the  grape,  and  the  substitution 
of  a  wholesome  wine  for  the  eflects  of  the  distillery.     The  Mayor  of  the 


4.38  SKETCHES    OF    EMINENT    AMERICANS. 

city,  and  a  number  of  the  most  intluential  citizens,  attended  the  meefmg. 
The  address  was  adopted  and  published  in  the  American  Farmer  of  1828. 
A  society  was  formed,  a  constitution  adopted,  and  officers  a^-»pointed. 
The  late  General  Wm.  M'Donald  was  chosen  President;  George  Fitzhugh, 
Esq.,  Vice-president ;  Dr.  John  C.  S.  Monkur,  M  D.,  Corresponding  Secre- 
tary ;  and  Dr.  Richard  G.  Beet,  M.D.,  Treasurer.  An  Act  of  Incorporation 
was  obtained  from  the  Maryland  Legislature,  with  a  capital  of  $12,000, 
and  an  experimental  piece  of  ground  purchased.  From  this  time  atten- 
tion to  the  cultivation  of  the  grape  became  general,  and  is  now  advancing 
in  the  Western  and  Southern  states.  Dr.  Monkur  used  persevering  efiorts 
by  correspondence  throughout  the  states,  and  with  the  most  prominent 
citizens  on  the  subject,  which  resulted  in  his  furnisliing  several  communi- 
cations in  furtherance  of  his  views  in  the  American  Farmer  and  other 
agricultural  papers. 

In  1835,  during  Dr.  Monkur's  professional  duties  on  Fells  Point,  and 
in  his  intercourse  with  the  people,  he  felt  the  want  of  some  public  institution 
in  which  the  people  at  large  could  assemble  and  have  the  opportunity  of 
mental  cultivation  on  subjects  so  necessary  to  their  well-being  and  happi- 
ness. The  youths  especially  required  such  a  resort.  Impressed  with  this 
necessity.  Dr.  Monkur  determined  to  erect  a  building  for  the  purpose,  at 
his  own  suggestion  and  expense.  He  erected  a  suitable  house  at  the  cost 
of  S5000,  with  museum,  lecture,  and  hall-rooms.  The  first  course  of 
lectures  in  the  institution  named  by  the  class  "  Fells  Point  Institute,"  was 
delivered  by  the  Doctor  himself  on  Popular  Anatomy  and  Physiology 
to  a  class  of  four  hundred  citizens.  The  course  occupied  three  months. 
After  the  course  was  finished.  Dr.  Monkur  received  a  public  resolution 
of  thanks  and  encouragement,  which  was  published  at  the  time.  With 
the  Doctor's  course  of  lectures  was  a  course  for  English  Grammar,  by 
Captain  Little  ;  a  course  of  Natural  Philosophy  and  Chemistry,  by  Dr. 
Wm.  T.  Leonard,  M.D.;  and  on  Botany,  by  Dr.  Wm.  R.  Fisher, 'M.L^. 
The  institution  not  only  supported  itself,  but  subserved  several  charitable 
purposes. 

In  1836,  Dr.  Monkur  received  the  appointment  of  Professor  of  the 
Theory  and  Practice  of  Medicine,  and  Clinical  Medicine,  in  the 
Washington  Medical  College  of  Baltimore  (afterwards  entitled  the 
Washington  University  of  Baltimore),  and  up  to  this  time  he  has  yearly 
given  a  course  of  lectures  upon  this  subject. 

At  the  time  of  Dr.  Monkur's  appointment,  the  Washington  Medical 
College  had  disposed  of  their  building.  The  course  of  1836  was 
delivered  in  the  Fells  Point  Institute.  The  next  year,  in  connexion 
with  the  medical  faculty  of  the  school,  was  founded  the  present  Uni- 
versity College  and  Hospital  building  on  Broadway.  This  house  was 
erected  on  stock  subscription,  and  cost  $40,000.  It  was  erected  u})ou 
an  entire  new  principle.  The  lecture  hall,  students'  residences,  and  the 
hospital  department,  were  under  the  same  roof  in  the  same  inclosnre, 
giving  advantages  to  the  student  of  medicine  not  possessed  by  any  other 
school  in  the  country. 

In  association  with  his  daily  course  of  lectures.  Dr.  Monkur  attended 
the  hospital  department  as  Professor  of  Clinical  Medicine,  when  there 
were  at  least  eighty  beds  occupied,  giving  a  wide  and  interesting  field  of 
ohservation  and  instruction  to  the  students. 


JOHN    C.    S.   MONKUR,  OF    BALTIMORE,    MARVLAND.  439. 

If  vfQ  were  asked  to  cite  some  of  the  especial  traits  of  Dr.  Moukur's ' 
professional  character,  we  should  say  that  acute  perception  and 
unwearied  industry  characterized  him.  He  has  an  admirable  tact  in 
seizing  the  most  evanescent  features  of  disease,  in  detecting  slight, 
obscure,  or  latent  symptoms.  He  is  especially  good  at  medical 
physiognomy,  at  recognising  that  ensefnbJe  of  external  signs  which, 
indicate  disease ;  a  skill  which  is  the  result  of  long  practice,  of  much 
experience,  and  above  all,  of  the  prolonged  exercise  of  acute  perceptive 
faculties.  We  have  known  him  at  first  sight  to  determine  the  character, 
of  an  obscure  disease  by  his  physiognomical  skill  alone.  In  this  regard, 
he  resembles  the  character  we  have  formed  of  the  celebrated  Boerhaave 
more  tlian  any  medical  man  within  our  knowledge. 

In  addition  to  this,  he  is  an  admirable  medical  logician.  He  docs  not 
satisfy  himself  with  the  mere  collection  of  symptoms,  but  he  arranges 
them  in  his  own  mind  in  a  lucid  order.  This  makes  him  a  most 
desirable  consulting  physician,  because  by  this  power,  he  deduces  from 
the  mass  of  heterogeneous  symptoms,  a  clear  and  distinct  idea  of  the 
actual  pathological  condition  of  the  patient. 

His  therapeutics  are  bold  and  varied.  He  does  not  content  himself  with 
simple,  but  is  fond  of  a  combination  of  medicinal  agents.  He  is  also  very 
rapid  in  his  changes  of  medication  to  meet  the  ever  changing  phenomena 
of  disease,  while  he  does  not  lose  sight  of  his  general  plan  of  operations. 

His  industry  is  marvellous.  With  a  large  and  wearing  practice,  he 
nevertheless  finds  time  not  only  for  extensive  and  varied  reading,  but 
also  for  a  collection  and  condensation  of  all  the  important  facts  and 
theories  that  are  presented  to  him.  His  reading  is  so  well  tabulated 
that  he  can  at  any  moment  recur  to  any  important  fact  he  may  need. 
He  keeps  a  record  of  all  his  cases,  with  the  age,  sex,  condition,  time 
of  attack,  duration  of  disease,  and  all  important  facts.  The  striking 
cases  are  written  out  in  full,  but  all,  even  the  simplest,  are  arranged  in 
tabular  form.  His  office  practice  is  always  recorded  in  full ;  and  when 
other  physicians  have  been  attending  his  business  for  him  during  his 
sickness  or  absence  from  the  city,  they  have  been  able  to  get  the 
whole  pathological  history  of  a  patient  for  years,  by  a  reference  to  his 
office  record  case  books.  Such  industry  is  of  course  of  incalculable 
advantage  to  a  medical  teacher ;  in  that  capacity  he  has  been  eminently 
successful.  His  office  students  enjoy  real  solid  advantages,  superior  to 
those  of  any  other  oftice  with  which  we  are  acquainted.  He  carries  into 
his  teaching  that  love  of  order  and  systematic  progress  which  so 
strikingly  characterizes  him.  The  students  are  kept  at  the  rudiments  of 
the  profession  until  they  have  sufficiently  mastered  them,  and  his 
extensive  office  practice  gives  them  abundant  opportunity  to  learn  both 
the  recognition  and  the  treatment  of  disease. 

xVs  a  lecturer.  Doctor  Monkur  is  remarkably  full,  clear,  and  profound . 
His  style  of  speaking  is  easy  and  fluent.  His  voice  is  very  distinct  in 
pronunciation,  and  he  is  never  at  a  loss  for  a  word.  As  a  clinical 
teacher  we  have  never  heard  him  equalled,  though  we  have  listened  to 
very  eminent  masters  of  this  art.  His  profound  knowledge  of  disease, 
his  admirable  tact  in  recognising  it,  his  numerous  and  varied  therapeu- 
tical resources,  and  his  excellent  faculty  of  reasoning  upon  phenomena, 
give  to  his  clinical  lectures  a  peculiar  interest  to  the  student.     We  have 


440  SKETCHES    OF    EMINENT    AMERICANS. 

never  known  him  to  shine  more  than  when  an  intricate  case,  which  he 
has  never  seen  before,  was  presented  to  him  at  his  clinique.  While  he 
examined  the  patient  he  lectured,  and  the  students  who  were  fortunate 
enough  to  be  present  at  such  an  exhibition,  heard  him,  as  it  were,  think 
aloud.  His  mode  of  observation,  and  his  reasoning  processes  were 
exposed  to  them,  and  we  have  no  hesitation  in  saying  that  an  intelligent 
and  thoughtful  pupil  could  gain  more  important  fundamental  know- 
ledge in  such  a  clinical  lecture  than  he  could  in  a  volume  of  disquisitions 
on  cases  of  disease. 

The  subject  of  our  sketch  is  now  in  the  fifty-third  year  of  his  age,  and  is 
Rtill  engaged  in  a  very  extensive  and  lucrative  practice,  and  enjoys  the 
full  confidence  of  his  patients.  As  a  physician  his  character  may  be 
sufficiently  inferred  from  what  we  have  written. 

At  the  age  of  twenty-five  years.  Doctor  Monkur  married  Hannah,  the 
widow  of  Nicholas  Leeke.  She  was  frugal,  gentle,  and  distinguished 
for  benevolence  and  devotion  to  her  family.  She  died  in  April,  1846.  By 
her  he  had  one  daughter,  who  died  at  the  early  age  of  two  years.  In  1848 
he  was  again  married  to  Mary  Catharine,  daughter  of  John  Busk,  Esq.,  by 
whom  he  has  had  two  sons.  The  elder  died  a  few  months  past ;  the 
remaining  one  is  a  promising  boy,  who,  in  remembrance  and  gratitude 
for  the  many  favors  received  from  the  hand  of  his  deceased  preceptor, 
bears  the  name  of  Cosmo  Gordon  Stevenson. 


^'  r-^,^ 


t^  -77-6^0^ 


■'crB^ar:^. 


GEORGE    FISHER,    OF    HUNGARY.  441 

GEORGE  FISHER, 

SECRETARY    AND    TRANSLATOR   TO    THE    CALIFORNIA    LAND    COMMISSION, 

Is  a  native  of  Hungary,  born  in  the  city — called  in  the  "  Magyar  " 
tongue  Szekes-Feher-Var,  and  known  in  the  German  as  Stuhl  Weisen- 
burg — in  the  month  of  April,  1*795. 

This  city  is  about  ten  German  miles  S.  W.  from  Buda,  the  ancient 
capital  of  the  countrj^,  and  is  now  the  seat  of  justice  of  Feher-Var-Var- 
megye.  Besides  being  the  birth-place  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  it 
has  the  honor  to  claim  amongst  its  sons,  the  renowned  Captain  John 
Smith,  celebrated  for  his  single-handed  conflict  with  three  Turks,  whom 
he  slew  (in  the  war  between  Turkey  and  Hungary),  and  subsequently 
made  still  more  famous  by  the  interposition  of  the  noble  Indian  maiden, 
Pocahontas,  for  his  salvation  ;  and  among  its  daughters,  if  public 
rumor  be  true,  the  devoted  wife  of  Louis  Kossuth,  the  Hungarian 
patriot. 

The  father  of  Mr.  F.  was  a  native  of  Burger — "  Bolgar  "  in  the  Magyar 
language,  and  died  during  his  infancy,  leaving  little  besides  his  name  to 
his  son. 

After  the  decease  of  his  father,  he  entered  the  college  of  Carlowitz, 
under  the  charge  of  His  Excellency,  Stephen  Stratimirovitch,  then  Arch- 
bishop of  the  Greek  church  in  Austria,  having  his  Episcopal  See  at 
Carlowitz.  He  was  here  educated  in  the  tenets  of  that  church,  which 
appear  to  have  been  those  of  his  family,  and  according  to  their  desire, 
he  was  to  have  been  devoted  to  it,  by  investing  him,  at  the  proper  age, 
with  holy  orders.  But  Providence  had  otherwise  ordered  ;  and  in  1813, 
becoming  wearied  with  the  monotony  of  student-life,  and  feeling  a 
decided  repugnance  to  taking  orders,  he  left  the  college,  and  joined  the 
revolutionary  ranks  of  Servia,  under  the  command  of  George  Peti'ovitch 
— the  celebrated  "  Black  George  "  of  history. 

Here,  at  the  age  of  seventeen,  commences  his  adventurous  career, 
which,  when  we  look  upon  it,  forces  us  to  exclaim, 

"Truth  is  strange — stranger  than  fiction." 

The  valor  of  George  Petrovitch  and  his  adherents  was  not  proof,  how- 
ever, against  the  overwhelming  forces  of  the  Sultan  ;  and  after  the  des- 
perate contest  of  Belgrade,  the  adventurous  lad  was  driven  with  the 
retreating  Sclavonians  across  the  Danube,  and  sought  a  refuge  within  the 
inhospitable  confines  of  Austria. 

The  Austrian  government,  to  rid  itself  of  men  whom  it  both  hated 
and  feared,  but  dared  not  slay,  authorized  the  organization  of  the  Scla- 
vonian  Legion  ;  and  in  it  the  youthful  soldier  was  again  enrolled,  making 
with  it  the  celebrated  campaign  of  Italy.  But  a  year  had  not  elapsed, 
when  orders  came  for  the  immediate  disbanding  of  the  Legion  (then 
far  in  the  interior),  leaving  the  young  adventurer  again  alone,  his  sword 
his  only  support — his  courage  his  sole  capital.  With  these  he  made  his 
solitary  way  along  the  banks  of  the  Danube,  through  a  part  of  hostile 


442  SKETCHES    OF    EMINENT    AxMERICANS. 

Turkey,  to  Adrianople,  along  the  Adriatic,  and  after  many  adventures, 
be  again  crossed  the  Austrian  frontier,  between  Landscrone  and  Mittel- 
walde,  in  Austrian  and  Prussian  Silesia  ;  he  resolutely  pushes  on  through 
Breslau,  Di'esden,  Magdeburg,  Bremen  to  Amstei'dam.  Here  he  deter- 
mined to  try  if  fortune  might  not  be  more  propitious  in  the  western 
world,  and  embarked  on  a  Dutch  ship  bound  for  Philadelphia.  lie 
entered  the  Delaware  river  in  the  month  of  September,  1815,  and  was 
detained  on  board  the  ship  as  a  rederaptionist,  which  is  the  term  applied 
to  a  person  liable  to  be  sold  for  his  passage  money.  Again  his  adven- 
turous spirit  arose,  and  being  overpowered  in  an  attempt  to  regain  his 
liberty,  he  was  confined  on  board  until  nearly  the  end  of  the  year,  when 
oTOwing  desperate,  he  with  two  other  companions  took  possession  of  the 
ship's  boat,  and  landing  above  the  city,  escaped. 

Their  landing,  nevertheless,  attracted  the  attention  of  some  persons 
on  the  shore,  who  approached  them  suspiciously,  but  soon  turned  back, 
apparently  satisfied,  saying  to  each  other,  "  Fishers !" 

It  may  have  appeared  strange  to  some,  that  the  name  of  Fisher  should 
be  borne  by  one  of  Slavono-Servian  descent,  and  we  may  as  well  inform 
the  reader  that  it  was  not  the  pationymic  of  the  subject  of  this  notice. 
A  poor  orphan,  escaping  from  the  patronage  of  a  powerful  Archbishop, 
whose  zeal  for  proselytism  would  have  extended  any  means  to  have 
secured  the  deserter  from  the  church,  caused  the  ardent  boy  to  use  only 
his  baptismal  name  ;  and  afterward  when  an  exile  on  a  foreign  shore, 
just  liberating  himself  from  a  prison  ship,  the  first  word  that  greeted  his 
ear  was  that  of  deliverance — viz.,  "  Fishers,"  that  is,  they  are  fishermen 
(showing  him  to  be  unsuspected  and  consequently  free).  It  was  a  pious 
and  a  grateful  thought  that  prompted  him  to  take  the  name  (similar  to 
that  which  governed  the  preserver  of  Moses),  as  an  acknowledgment 
and  remembrance  of  providential  preservation. 

Mr.  George  Fisher — for  we  can  safely  call  him  so  now,  having  assumed 
that  name  with  his  adopted  country — after  struggling  through  those  ha- 
rassing trials  which  the  stranger  only  knows,  and  the  stranger  with  a 
foreign  tongue  most  keenly  feels,  but  which  his  iron  will  and  sturdy 
courage  soon  overcame,  pursued  his  fortunes  to  the  great  West,  then, 
and  even  now,  the  proper  sphere  for  spirits  such  as  his  ;  and  after  many 
wanderings,  selected  the  state  of  Mississippi  as  a  residence,  and  there 
having  declared  his  intentions,  became  a  citizen  of  the  United  States. 
And  when  we  think  upon  his  early  sufferings  under  Austrian  tyranny, 
we  mav  imagine  with  what  sincerity  he  threw  off'  all  allegiance  to  for- 
eign potentates. 

In  the  year  1825,  impelled  by  love  of  adventure,  Mr.  Fisher  visited 
the  city  of  Mexico,  where  he  remained  until  1830,  when  he  accompa- 
nied the  Hon.  J.  R.  Poinsett,  American  Minister,  to  New  Orleans, 
having  been  engaged  in  procuring  material  for  Mr.  Poinsett's  work  on 
Mexico. 

In  this  same  year,  after  parting  with  Mr.  P.  as  above,  Mr.  Fisher  re- 
paired to  Galveston,  Texas  (then  a  Mexican  port),  where  he  received  the 
appointment  of  collector  of  customs.  This  position  he  held  until  1832, 
and  it  was  during  his  administration  of  that  department  that  the  germ 
was  placed,  from  which  a  few  years  later  sprung  the  tree  which  is  now 
yielding  such  abundant  fruit  to  the  American  Republic  of  the  North  ;  and, 


GEOKGE    FISHER,    OF    HUNGARV  448 

as  one  of  the  consequences  of  its  growth  and  possession,  producing  the 
war  which  shook  the  goldeii  apple  of  California  into  her  lap. 

When  Mr.  Fisher  resigned  his  collectorship  at  (xalveston,  he  proceeded 
to  Matamoras,  where  he  was  engaged  in  various  offices  under  the  Mexi- 
can government — having  been  commissary  general,  collector  and  comp- 
troller of  customs,  (fee,  (fee. — until  the  autumn  of  1834,  when  he  retired 
to  piivate  life.  But  his  active  mind  could  not  long  lie  dormant,  and  to 
employ  it  he  became  the  editor  and  publisher  of  a  democratic  newspaper 
in  the  Spanish  language,  called  the  "'  Mercuric  del  Puerto  de  Matamoras." 
His  journal  appears  to  have  been  too  liberal  for  the  "  powers  that 
were  f  and  to  exemplify  this  we  will  copy  from  a  long  article  published 
in  the  '^  Mercurio,"  No.  24,  IGth  April,  1885,  under  the  head  of  "  Com- 
)iiunicadas,"  the  following  significant  words,  addressed  by  Mr.  Fisher,  for 
himself  and  associates,  to  General  Martin  Perfecto  de  Cos,  Commandante 
General  of  the  Eastern  Internal  States  ;  they  are  part  of  a  reply  to  a 
communication  from  General  Cos,  in  which  he  accuses  the  Mercury  of 
diverting  the  attention  of  the  supreme  government  (of  Mexico)  with  "  odi- 
ous and  noisy  questions."  "In  such  circumstances  as  these,"  says  the 
Mercury,  referring  to  the  conduct  of  Vital  Fernandez,  the  Governor, 
and  Lojero,  political  Chief  of  the  Department,  "  in  which  Tamaulipas  is 
placed,  being  only  subject  to  the  insolence  of  a  Tyrant,  there  are  but  two 

ways  left  for  her  to  pursue You  know  them  both,  and  you  see 

that  the  worst  one  against  tyranny  has  not  been  adopted  ;  a  remonstrance 
has  been  made  to  government,  and  yet  the  })eople  have  not  resorted  to 
extremity."  This  plainly  worded  article  concludes  with  an  assurance  to 
the  General  that  the  Mei'cury  will  always,  for  the  benefit  of  the  people, 
inculcate  ideas  to  make  them  (jreat  and  respectable  ! 

As  a  natural  consequence  Mr.  Fisher  was  banished,  and,  in  keeping 
with  the  magnanimous  character  of  his  persecutors,  allowed  but  six  days 
to  leave. 

His  goods  and  chattels  were  then  seized  and  placed  at  once  under  the 
hammer,  and  before  they  were  even  distributed  an  order  was  received  by 
the  auctioneer  for  the  amount  of  sales ;  the  net  proceeds  of  which,  when 
handed  over,  were  nine  hundred  and  sixty  dollars  ;  one  thousand  dollars 
having  been  expected  by  the  judge,  as  appears  in  the  official  document. 
And  what  became  of  this  sum  ?  As  shown  by  another  official  paper,  it 
was  divided  among  the  postmaster,  collector,  and  this  greedy  judge  !  Can 
we  wonder  that  the  money  was  required  in  such  haste  from  the  auc- 
tioneer ! 

With  this  taste  of  Mexican  justice,  Mr.  Fisher  obeys  the  order  of  ba- 
nishment and  sails  for  New  Orleans.  He  reaches  that  city  when  the  ex- 
citement for  the  liberation  of  Texas  was  at  fever  heat,  and  at  once  lends 
both  heart  and  hands  to  the  cause.  He  had  resided  ten  years  in  Mexico, 
believing  it  a  republic — had  held  high  office  under  the  pseudo-demo- 
cracy— had  collected  its  revenues,  and  controlled  its  accounts — placed  mil- 
]io7is  of  dollars  in  their  treasury  ;  and  yet,  for  words  which  could  not  have 
been  restrained  by  one  of  his  noble  nature,  he  received  a  peremptory  or- 
der to  leave  tlie  republic  (?)  within  such  a  time  as  would  hardly  have 
been  sufficient  to  have  arranged  the  affairs  of  a  cordelier,  and  his  pro- 
perty was  seized  and  sacrificed,  and  the  proceeds  divided  amongst  his 
judge  and  his  accusers. 


444  SKETCHES    OF   EMINENT    AMERICANS. 

But  the  amount  was  dearly  earned  by  the  Mexican  government.  Sa- 
gacious and  observ^ing,  Mr.  Fisher  was  more  conversant  with  Mexican 
politics  than  his  persecutors  imagined ;  and  fortunate  for  him,  perhaps, 
this  ignorance  on  their  part,  else  his  order  had  been  to  the  city  of  Mexi- 
co, under  an  escort,  to  have  shared  the  prison  with  his  noble  and  unfor- 
tunate friend  Stephen  F.  Austin. 

He  discloses  the  particulars  of  a  contemplated  invasion  of  Texas  by 
Mexico,  shows  that  Santa  Anna  had  long  been  making  preparations  for 
that  purpose,  but  cheered  the  hearts  of  his  hearers  by  prophesying  a  suc- 
cessful issue  to  the  Texans  ;  and  that  a  proof  of  his  military  genius  might 
not  be  wanting,  he  then  pointed  out  the  course  which  did  subsequently 
lead  to  the  battle  of  San  Jacinto  and  the  capture  of  Santa  Anna  and  Cos. 

Nor  were  words  the  only  aid  and  comfort  given  ;  for  when  the  storm 
thickened,  and  ballast  was  needed  to  keep  the  ship  upright  when  its 
force  should  strike,  his  means  were  freely  tendered.  At  the  critical  mo- 
ment he  was  on  deck — his  encouraging  voice  heard — his  powerful  arm 
felt ;  and  when  the  gale  had  lulled,  but  the  vexed  waves  still  tossed  the 
straining  vessel,  he  was  amongst  the  first  to  see  the  necessity  of  lashing 
the  little  barque  to  the  larger  ship,  that  she  might  repair  damages  under 
her  lee.  Perhaps  we  deal  too  largely  in  metaphor — in  plain  prose,  then, 
Mr.  Fisher,  upon  his  arrival  in  New  Orleans,  was  liberal  towards  the 
cause  of  Texas.  Robbed  as  he  had  been,  he  gave  what  he  had,  and  like 
the  widow's  mite  it  was  blessed.  When  the  war  broke  out  he  was  active 
in  the  field,  and  his  military  talents  came  opportunely  into  play. 

He  brought  with  him  from  Matamoras  an  invitation  from  "the  go- 
vernor of  Tamaulipas,  to  General  Jose  Antonio  Mexia,  to  join  him  in  taking 
the  field  against  the  usurping  administration  of  Santa  Anna,  accompa- 
nied that  general  in  his  descent  upon  Tampico,  and  is  honorably  men- 
tioned by  him. 

Hon.  S.  F.  Austin,  the  founder  of  Texas,  a  man  whose  good  word  was 
valuable,  writes  to  Mr.  Fisher  thus  :  "  The  only  time  to  try  friendship  is 
when  a  man  is  in  misfortune  and  persecuted  by  powerful  enemies  as  I 
am.  You  have  interested  yourself  for  me,  even  at  the  risk  of  ivjurinr/ 
yourself     I  wish  my  family  to  know  this  ;   they  will  not  forget  itP 

The  lamented  John  L.  Stephens  makes  a  very  favorable  mention  of 
Mr.  Fisher  in  his  "  Travels  in  Yucatan."  He  styles  him  "  the  citizen 
of  the  world,"  and  properly  too,  as  the  foregoing  pages  testify  ;  he 
describes  his  various  adventures  more  graphically  than  we  dare  attempt, 
and  was  there  no  other  record  than  that  of  the  talented  traveller  it  would 
alone  have  been  sufiicient  to  have  sent  his  name  down  to  posterity. 

But  Mr.  Stephens  was  not  writing  his  biography,  and  of  course  had  no 
occasion  to  set  down  more  than  was  immediately  apparent  to  himself. 
We  allude  at  present  to  Mr.  Stephens's  derivation  of  Mr.  Fisher's  name, 
and  to  correct  an  error  which  appears  in  his  work  (not  Mr.  Stephens's 
error,  however,  as  we  will  explain,  but  still  an  error),  which  we  have  no 
doubt  the  subject  of  our  sketch  will  be  proud  to  see  set  right,  even  by 
the  hands  of  his  self-appointed  biographer  ;  for 

"  Good  name  in  man  or  woman 

Is  the  immediate  jewel  of  the  soul ;" 

and  no  one  can  appreciate  the  sentiment  better  than  Mr.  Fisher. 


GEORGE    FISHER,    OF    HUNGARY.''  445 

We  have  previously  stated  that  he  adopted  the  name  of  Fisher  from 
the  fact  of  his  having  been  mistaken  for  a  fisherman  on  his  escape  from 
the  Dutch  ship.  This  is  true;  he  did  assume  the  name  as  we  relate.  But 
Mr.  Stephens  says,  "His  Sclavonian  name  is  'Ribar,'  which  in  the  Ger- 
man language  means  a  '  fisher,'  "  &c.,  &c.  Now  Mr.  Stephens  was  cor- 
rect, as  far  as  he  had  been  informed,  Mr.  Fisher  having  been  his  inform- 
ant ;  but  the  reason  why  he  gave  him  this  name  and  derivation,  was 
because  it  was  not  then  expedient  to  reveal  the  whole  truth  in  relation  to  his 
name,  and  his  statement  could  not  injure  Mr.  S.,  whilst  it  shielded  himself. 

It  will  be  remembered,  on  his  first  departure  from  his  native  land, 
when  he  renounced  the  authority  of  the  Bishop,  he  declined  the  name 
he  then  bore.  In  that  memorable  but  unfortunate  campaign,  ending  in 
the  decisive  battle  of  Belgrade,  in  which  the  -Servians  under  George 
Petrovitch  were  defeated,  he  was  compelled  to  pass  as  a  Turkish  subject, 
otherwise  he  would  not  have  been  allowed  to  have  left  the  Austrian  terri- 
tory ;  and  as  it  had  then  become  his  fixed  intention  to  seek  a  safer  home 
in  America,  he  was  forced  to  resort  to  some  stratagem  to  successfully 
carry  out  his  project.  Hence  the  necessity  of  assuming  the  title  of  a 
Turkish  subject,  which  sided  still  better  with  his  \'iews,  as  his  forefathers 
had  been  under  the  rule  of  Turkey  ;  and  the  Slavono-Servian  language 
having  been  his  vernacular,  he  could  easily  pass  as  ^  Servian  and  a  sub- 
ject of  the  Grand  Sultan  ;  and  this  is  why  he  gave  the  name  of  "  Ribar" 
to  Mr.  Stephens. 

To  quote  from  Mr.  Stephens  in  relation  to  his  meeting  with  Mr.  Fisher : 
"  He  was  of  course  at  home  in  the  politics  of  Yucatan,  as  he  had  some 
little  personal  interest  in  watching  them  closely ;  for  should  Santa  Anna 
regain  the  ascendency,  the  climate  would  be  altogether  too  warm  for 
him."  Which  fully  accounts  for  Mr.  Fisher's  desire  not  to  be  traced 
through  any  name  known  to  his  enemies;  and  thus  we  hope  we  have 
*atisfactorily  explained  any  difference  that  may  have  appeared  between 
our  humble  sketch  and  Mr.  Stephens's  statement.  Mr.  Fisher  is  heart  and 
soul  a  Texan.  With  his  strong  instincts,  he  bears  towards  the  country  he 
has  assisted  to  make  free,  a  feeling  akin  to  paternity.  He  had  resided  in 
Texas  under  Mexican  mismanagement ;  and,  as  we  have  seen,  first  planted 
the  seeds  of  revolution  at  Galveston.  From  Matamoras  he  was  banished 
for  upholding  democratic  principles,  and  at  the  sacrifice  of  his  interests, 
personal  liberty,  ay,  even  at  the  risk  of  his  life,  striving  to  make  a  peo- 
great  and  prosperous,  by  making  them  free. 

From  the  first  tap  of  the  rappel,  which  called  the  oppressed  Texans  to 
arms,  to  the  joy-notes  which  proclaimed  them  free  and  independent,  Mr. 
Fisher  never  wavered.  Throughout  that  long  and  doubtful  struggle  he 
never  faltered,  and  when  the  alarms  of  war  had  ceased,  and  bright-eyed 
Peace  went  smiling  o'er  the  land,  Texas  was  still  the  object  of  his  care, 
and  continued  to  be  until  he  had  the  satisfaction  of  beholding  tlie  Lone 
Star  mingling  its  beams  in  the  constellation — the  lost  Pleiad  restored  ! 

To  effect  this  his  pen  was  not  idle,  and  from  his  midnight  camp,  when 
others  sought  repose,  he  issued  breathing  thoughts  and  burning  words, 
which,  through  the  columns  of  the  southern  and  western  press,  have  ta- 
ken the  hearts  of  the  people,  and  were  as  useful  in  procuring  the  elec- 
tion of  Mr.  Polk,  and  consequently  the  annexation  of  his  adopted  state, 
as  any  other  means. 


4.46  SKETCHES    OF    EMINENT    AMERICANS. 

We  liave  called  Mr.  Fislier  a  Texan,  and  with  reason;  for  if  any  one 
has  a  right  to  that  title,  it  is  the  subject  of  this  notice.  His  history  is 
embodied  in  the  history  of  that  country,  from  its  infancy  to  the  present 
day.  When  its  affairs  became  settled,  Mr.  Fisher  commenced  the  prac- 
tice of  law  at  Houston,  with  license  from  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  re- 
public. He  has  acted  in  various  capacities  in  civil  authority  ;  has  filled 
the  offices  of  justice  of  the  peace,  county  judge,  recorder  of  the  city,  no- 
tary public,  commissioner  of  deeds  for  almost  every  state  in  the  Union, 
&c.  &c.  &c.  From  1846  to  1848  he  was  translator  and  keeper  of  the 
Spanish  records  of  the  General  Land  Office  of  Texas,  having  been  pre- 
viously inteipreter  to  the  Convention  for  framing  the  State  Constitu- 
tion. 

Prior  to  its  annexation  he  was  at  various  times  interpreter  and  trans- 
lator to  the  Senate  of  the  republic,  holding  the  same  position  when  it 
became  a  state. 

In  the  year  1851  Mr.  F.  went  to  Panama  to.  engage  in  commercial 
pursuits,  and  there  he  has,  on  many  occasions,. rendered  important  ser- 
vices to  the  authorities,  in  assisting  to  quell  those  disturbances  insepara- 
ble from  the  condition  of  a  mixed  and  shifting  population  ;  and  in  more 
than  one  instance  has  his  life  been  in  danger  in  his  interference  to  pre- 
vent bloodshed  between  Americans  and  natives — his  coolness  and  ad- 
dress favoring  him  with  both  parties,  whilst  his  knowledge  of  the  Spa- 
nish language  gave  him  authority  with  the  natives. 

Mr.  Fisher  is  a  member  in  high  repute  of  the  Honorable  Fraternity  of 
Free  and  Accepted  Ancient  York  Masons.  He  was  initiated  in  1818, 
and  in  1822  became  a  Royal  Arch  Mason,  Zealous  in  everything  he 
undertakes,  he  was  active  in  establishing  lodges,  a  grand  lodge,  chap- 
ter, and  grand  chapter  in  the  city  of  Mexico  in  1825,  being  assi.-ted  by 
the  Hon.  J.  R.  Poinsett,  American.  Minister,  and  Governor  Vidal,  for- 
merly of  Louisiana.  In  Texas  he  assisted,  in  conjunction  with  (renerals 
Sam  Houston  and  Thomas  J.  Rusk,  in  forming  lodges  and  a  graad  lodge 
as  early  as  1837. 

At  Panama  (N.  G.)  he  was  also  the  originator  of  a  lodge,  and,  if  we 
are  correctly  informed,  holds  an  exalted  position  in  difi'erent  lodges  in 
California. 

AVilh  the  exception  of  a  few,  whose  lives  have  been  devoted  to  scho- 
lastic pursuits,  Mr.  F.  is  conversant  with  more  languages  than  almost 
anv  other  man,  and  is  perhaps  the  best  hnguist  living.  He  is  a  Greek 
and  Latin  scholar,  and  in  addition  to  a  knowledge  of  the  Russian,  Po- 
lish, Bohemian,  Moravian,  Slovack,  Croatian,  Dalmatian,  and  the  lan- 
o-uao-e  of  the  Montenegrini,  speaks  with  fluency  the  following  tongues : 
his  vernacular,  the  Slavono-Servian,  the  Hungarian  or  "  Magyar,"  the 
German,  the  English,  the  Spanish,  Portuguese,  French,  and  Italian. 

With  all  these  accomphshments — with  all  these  honors — having  in 
less  than  fifty  years  undergone  more  than  fifty  ordinary  men  of  greater 
ao-e,  he  remains  a  plain,  unassuming,  active  gentleman,  unpretentious  of 
fame,  and  only  anxious  to  have  his  name  descend  untarnished  to  his 
children  ;  and  as  a  proof  of  this  he  is  now  quietly  performing  the  ardu- 
ous duties  of  Secretary  to  the  Board  of  Land  Commissioners  to  ascertain 
and  settle  the  private  land  claims  in  California,  and  ex  offi.cio  interpreter 
-of  said  board,  its  translator,  and  keeper  of  its  archives. 


■"&i---ei  oy  J  c  a,^^  ^^  g_  Dagisneoi^* 


cz£  /^/n^o^ 


tfhr3ui0N2phualySlabihes  of  Eminent' Amine: 


OEL   W,    WILSON,    OF    OHIO.  447 


JOEL  W.  WILSON,  Esq., 

OF       OHIO, 

Was  born  in  Bridport,  Vermont,  on  the  1st  day  of  December,  in  the  year 
A.D.  1815.  While  yet  an  infant  his  parents  emigrated  to  the  state  of 
Ohio,  and  settled  in  Licking  county.  Mr.  Wilson's  earl}'  days  were  sjjent 
in  agricultural  pursuits,  by  which  he  acquired  a  robust  constitution,  and 
habits  of  industry  which  have  characterized  him  in  after  life,  in  all  his 
pursuits.  At  this  early  period  in  the  history  of  Ohio,  when  all,  compara- 
tively, was  a  dense  wilderness,  the  opportunities  for  an  education  were 
very  limited,  and  Mr.  Wilson  being  not  of  tho  favored,  and  not  having  the 
iveallh  of  a  father  to  support  him  at  school,  in  some  of  the  noted  institu- 
tions of  our  country,  was  compelled  to  be  his  own  instructor,  by  the 
limited  aid  of  a  district  school.  Mr.  Wilson  pursued  diligently  his  studies  ; 
and  he  might  have  been  seen,  when  all  was  quiet  as  the  night,  not  by  the 
light  of  the  "midnight  lamp,"  but  by  the  glare  of  the  hickory  hark  fire, 
kindled  to  enable  him  to  study;  not  in  the  nicely  furnished  parlor,  but 
reclining  on  the  puncheon  Jloor  of  one  of  th(!  palaces  of  primitive  days  in 
Ohio.  Mr.  Wilson,  at  the  age  of  eighteen  years,  preferring  the  hazard 
of  navigating  life's  turbid  stream  alone,  and  having  determined  to  prepare 
himself  for  a  more  active  sphere  on  the  stage  of  life,  purchased,  for  a  con- 
sideration in  money,  paid  by  himself,  the  remainder  of  his  minority. 
And  thus  free,  depending  entirely  on  his  own  perseverance  and  economy, 
he  struggled  on,  supplying  the  bare  necessaries  of  life,  and  applying  the 
balance,  both  of  mojney  and  time,  to  the  improvement  of  his  mind;  and 
so  great  was  his  advancement,  that  previous  to  his  arriving  at  the  age  of 
majority,  he  was  in  the  first  classes  in  the  academic  course  of  the 
Western  Reserve  College. 

Limited  as  Mr.  Wilson  was  to  his  own  exertions,  he  found  it  impracti- 
cable to  complete  a  collegiate  course,  and  resolved  at  once  to  commence 
the  pursuit  he  so  long  desired — the  study  of  the  law — and  in  the  spring 
of  the  year  a.d.  1835,  entered  the  law  ofiice  of  the  Hon.  Van  R. 
Humphrey,  of  Hudson,  Ohio,  where  he  studied  with  his  accustomed 
industry,  at  the  same  time  acquiring  the  means  of  support,  until  the 
autumn  of  the  year  a.d.  1837,  when  he  was  admitted  to  practice  in  the 
several  courts  of  the  state,  at  Medina,  Ohio,  and  soon  thereafter  commenced 
the  piaclice  of  the  protV'ssion  in  a  small  town  in  Huron,  of  said  state. 
His  first  efiijrts  in  the  profession  were  not  very  flattering;  but  the  iron 
nerve,  the  never-yielding  will  was  there — the  word  fail  was  not  found 
in  his  creed — go-ahead  was  his  motto. 

Ml-.  Wilson's  political  position  was  taken  in  the  year  a.d.  1836,  and 
his  first  vote  was  given  for  Martin  Van  Buren,  in  opposition  to  most  of 
his  personal  friends  and  all  his  relations.  In  the  year  a.d.  1840,  by  an 
accident  which  came  near  costing  him  his  life,  he  was  detained  at  a  small 
village  in  Seneca  county,  Ohio,  where,  on  that  day,  the  democracy  liad 
assembled  to  rear  a  hickory  pole  ;  and  being  disappointed  in  the  attend- 
ance of  the  speaker  expected,  and  through  the  recommendation  of  a  friend 
belonging  to  the  opposite  party,  Mr.  Wilson  was  invited  to  address  the 


448  SKETCHES    OF    EMINENT    AMERICANS. 

meeting.  At  this  time  the  opposition  was  greatly  in  the  ascendant,  and 
the  excitement  running  very  high.  Educated,  as  he  had  been,  in  the 
strongholds  of  the  Whig  party,  he  well  knew  their  mode  of  thinking  and 
attack,  and  how  to  defend  as  well  as  assail ;  and  his  address  was  I'eplete 
with  sound  argument,  and  characterized  as  a  "triumphant  effort."  And 
the  evening  following  he  was  challenged  to  debate  the  points  of  difference 
between  the  two  political  parties,  which  he  unhesitatingly  accepted,  and 
in  which  he  acquitted  himself  with  credit,  and  to  the  great  satisfaction 
of  his  newly-made  acquaintance.  He  was  soon  after  invited  to  address 
the  democracy  of  the  county,  in  convention  assembled,  at  Tiffin,  the  place 
of  his  present  residence,  where  he  was  gi-eeted  as  a  hold  and  fearless 
champion  of  the  cause  of  democracy^  and  where  he  received  the  name  of 
the  "  Democratic  boy,"  in  consequence  of  his  very  youthful  appearance  at 
the  time. 

About  this  time  Mr.  Wilson,  by  the  persuasion  of  some  of  the  leading 
men  of  the  county,  was  induced  to  change  his  residence  and  locate  in 
Tiffin,  where  he  continued  the  practice  of  the  profession,  and  soon  was  in 
possession  of  a  large  and  lucrative  business,  and  acknowledged  to  be  one 
of  the  leading  members  of  the  bar  in  the  place  and  counties  adjoining. 
In  the  fall  of  the  year  1840,  he  was  elected,  and  in  two  years  thereafter 
reelected,  prosecuting  attorney  for  the  county,  and  discharged  the  duties 
of  that  office  for  two  terms,  with  his  usual  energy,  and  with  great  credit 
and  ability. 

About  this  time  the  judicial  system  of  Ohio  began  to  fail  under  a 
pressure  of  business.  By  the  constitution  then  in  force,  there  could  be 
but  four  judges  of  the  Supreme  Court,  and  they  were  required  to  hold 
annual  sessions  in  every  county  in  the  state  once  a  year,  and  court  in 
bank  by  all  the  judges  at  the  capitol  of  the  state,  in  December  of  every 
year.  Thus  traversing  the  state,  two  and  two,  during  the  spring, 
summer,  and  autumn,  and  spending  their  wintei's  in  Columbus,  attempting 
to  review  the  mass  of  business  hastily  passed  upon  during  their  running 
excursions  on  the  circuit,  in  matters  that  might  arise  under  the  varied 
details  of  a  court  of  both  law  and  chancery,  as  might  well  be  expected, 
the  decisions  became  crude  and  uncertain ;  and  though  the  highest  order 
of  legal  talent  was  on  the  bench,  yet  it  was  unavailing — time  and 
opportunity  to  examine,  digest,  and  declare,  not  being  given. 

Mr.  Wilson  was  among  the  first  to  urge  reform  in  this  particular, 
and  for  the  calling  of  a  convention  to  amend  the  constitution ;  and  with 
pen  and  tongue  constantly  pressed  upon  the  attention  of  those  in  his 
region  the  necessity  of  reform;  "for,"  said  he,  "though  the  constitution 
when  adopted  by  this  state  in  1802  was  sufficient,  and  in  many  respects 
a  glorious  one — though  adapted  to  the  days  of  our  infancy,  it  is  now  out- 
grown by  the  voung  giant  of  the  West ;  it  has  long  since  been  lifted 
from  our  feet,  and  reaches  now  to  our  shoulders.  It  is  fairly  out-grown, 
and  should  be  laid  aside,  and  a  new  one  adapted  to  our  age  and  circum- 
stances adopted." 

Mr.  Wilson,  while  pursuing  actively  his  profession,  and  fast  gaining 
distinction  as  an  advocate  and  counsellor,  was,  in  the  year  a.d.  1848, 
earnestly  solicited  by  his  numerous  friends  to  become  a  candidate  for  the 
senate  of  the  state  in  his  district,  and  consenting,  was  elected  to  that  place 
by  a  large  majority,  although  not  without  resistance  from  his  political 


JOEL    W.    WILSON,    OF    OHIO.  449 

opponents,  in  consequence  of  the  many  severe  handlings  they  had  received 
from  him.  He  entered  that  body  the  winter  after  his  election,  when  there 
was  great  excitement  in  relation  to  the  districting  the  state  and  the 
dividing  ofHamilton  county — a  period  ever  memorable  in  the  history  of 
Ohio,  and  an  excitement  calculated  to  array  against  each  other  the  best 
citizens  of  the  state,  and  which  threatened  the  overthrow  of  the  state 
government.  Matters  evidently  were  approaching  a  crisis  to  be  dreaded 
by  all.  Such  were  the  times  when  Mr.  Wilson  entered  first  upon  his 
political  course ;  and  although  he  was  young  in  years  and  younger  in 
legislative  experience,  he  showed  himself  to  be  a  man  for  the  times.  He 
was  cool  and  observing,  an  able  speaker  and  a  sound  reasoner — not  one 
of  those  to  be  urged  into  everything,  gi'eat  or  small — and  having  a  great 
anxiety  to  acquire  distinction,  but  reserved  until  an  opportunity  presents 
itself,  and  duty  requires.  He  is  then  ready  \  and  in  his  cool,  plain,  and 
argumentative  style,  addresses  himself  to  the  understanding. 

He  was  not  long  in  waiting  for  a  favorable  opportunity  to  present  it- 
self, for  in  March  following  the  body  of  which  he  was  a  member  had  under 
consideration  a  bill  districting  the  state  for  legislative  purposes,  which  Mr. 
Wilson  supported  in  an  able  speech,  of  which  the  "Ohio  Statesman"  of 
that  time  remarks  :  "  We  trust  no  one  of  our  readers  will  fail  to  peruse 
the  able  speech  of  Mr.  Wilson,  of  Seneca,  on  the  Apportionment  Bill, 
delivered  in  the  Senate.  Mr.  Wilson  is  an  able  debater,  and  his  speech 
presents  facts  in  a  strong  light." 

Mr.  Wilson  passed  through  the  session  of  the  Senate  of  1848-49, 
acquiring  for  himself  an  enviable  reputation  as  a  legislator,  and  by  his 
gentlemanly  deportment  and  atfable  manner  towards  his  fellow  members, 
winning  their  esteem  and  confidence  ;  and  by  virtue  of  his  election 
returned  to  the  Senate  for  the  session  of  1849-50,  in  the  mean  time  pur- 
suing his  profession.  At  the  time  for  the  organization  of  the  Senato 
came  the^excitement  and  trouble  from  Hamilton  county  again,  in  conse- 
quence of  their  having  elected  or  sent  up  two  men  claiming  the  same  seat, 
which  was  the  occasion  of  much  strife  and  contention  between  the 
friends  of  the  respective  claimants ;  and  it  was  not  until  about  six  weeks 
after  the  time  fixed  for  the  meeting  of  the  Legislature  that  the  Senate  per- 
fected an  organization,  during  all  which  time  many  points  were  made, 
questions  raised,  and  much  discussion  was  had,  and  in  most  of  which  Mr- 
Wilson  participated,  and  of  which  we  clip  the  following  notices.  Ohio 
Statesman:  "We  call  attention  to  a  sketch  of  the  remaiks  of  Mr. 
Wilson,  in  the  Senate,  on  the  question  of  amending  the  journal,  and  the 
right  of  Broadwell  to  occupy  the  time  of  the  Senate  in  speaking.  They 
are  pointed  and  able,  and  completely  foiled  the  attempts  of  the  Federal 
senators  to  force  the  Senate  to  listen  to  a  speech  from  their  Hamilton 
outsider." 

The  Statesman  of  another  date :  "  On  yesterday  morning,  when  the 
Whig  senators  had  a  crowded  lobby  of  Whigs  to  back  ihem  up  in  their 
eff"orts  to  force  the  Senate  to  listen  to  a  speech  from  their  abstract  member, 
they  were  arrogant  and  seemed  determined  to  take  things  by  storm. 
The  speech  of  Mr.  Wilson,  the  able  member  from  Seneca,  proved  a  wet 
blanket  to  their  hopes,  and  they  cowered  under  its  withering  rebuke,  and 
became  as  quiet  as  lambs.  The  change  was  a  marked  one.  They  were 
given  to  understand  that  force  could  not  drive  the  Democratic  senator* 

VOL.   III.  29 


450  SKETCHES    OF    EMINENT    AMERICANS. 

from  their  duty ;  that  in  defence  of  their  rights  they  would  resist  to  the 
last.  .  .  .  The  remarks  of  Mr.  Wilson  were  well-timed  and  effectual, 
and  we  speak  but  the  common  sentiment  of  every  unprejudiced  man  who 
heard  the  speech,  when  we  say  that  it  was  one  of  the  ablest  efforts 
delivered  in  that  body  during  the  present  session.  Its  effect  on  Whiggery 
was  to  save  them  from  the  commission  of  an  outrage  that  might  have 
cost  them  dear." 

The  Marion  Mirror :  "  To-day  Mr.  Wilson  of  Seneca  delivered  a  most 
admirable  speech.  He  was  calling  Mr.  Broadwell  to  order,  when  the 
speaker  called  him  to  order.  Whereupon  he  arose  and  defined  his  posi- 
tion in  a  speech  of  about  two  hours'  length,  in  which  he  showed  the 
position  he  had  assumed  in  not  suffering  Mr.  Broadwell  to  speak  without 
raising  his  voice  against  to  be  clearly  right." 

During  the  session  of  the  Legislature,  a  resolution  was  passed  for  the 
call  of  a  convention  to  revise  the  constitution  of  the  state,  for  which  Mr. 
Wilson  labored  most  assiduously,  and  thus  he  was  in  some  degree 
compensated  for  his  efforts  in  that  behalf. 

Mr.  Wilson,  at  the  close  of  the  turbulent  session  of  1849-50,  returned 
to  his  home,  and  resumed  the  practice  of  his  profession,  and  was  appointed 
in  the  winter  of  1850-51,  by  the  Governor,  Adjutant-General  of  the  state, 
which  oflSce  he  held  until  the  spring  following,  and  then  resigned  it.  In 
the  fall  of  the  year  a.d.  1851,  the  time  for  electing  the  members  of  the 
Legislature  under  the  late  constitution,  Mr.  Wilson  was  again  solicited  to 
be  a  candidate  for  the  post  he  had  so  ably  and  faithfully  filled  but  a  short 
time  previously.  Yielding  to  the  kind  wishes  of  his  friends,  he  was 
elected  to  represent  his  district  in  the  first  Senate  under  the  new  organi- 
zation. On  the  meeting  of  that  body  in  the  winter  of  1851-52,  Mr. 
Wilson  was,  with  almost  a  unanimous  vote,  chosen  President  pro  tern. 
of  the  Senate — a  post  of  great  responsibility  for  that  session,  as  upon  him 
would  devolve  the  duty  of  commencing  the  matter  of  legislation  under 
the  new  constitution,  which  was  a  radical  change  from  the  old,  and 
nearly  all  the  members  were  strangers  to  legislation,  and  strangers  to 
Mr.  Wilson.  Then  again  Mr.  Wilson's  energy  and  ready  business  quali- 
fications were  brought  into  requisition,  and  made  available  in  disposing 
of  an  immense  amount  of  business  during  the  first  week  of  the  session, 
among  which  was  the  canvassing  of  the  votes  of  the  state  for  the  different 
state  oflBces — there  being  eighty-eight  counties,  nearly  300,000  votes,  and 
some  twenty-seven  different  candidates.  Between  the  time  limited  by  the 
new  constitution  for  the  expiration  of  the  official  existence  of  the  state 
ofiicers,  and  the  time  fixed  for  the  inauguration  of  those  lately  elected, 
there  being  no  Lieutenant-Governor,  Mr.  Wilson  acted  as  such,  and  by 
virtue  of  his  office,  was  Governor  of  the  state  for  the  time  being.  After 
the  inauguration  of  the  new  ofiicers,  Mr.  Wilson  was  released  from  his 
position,  and  took  his  seat  upon  the  floor  of  the  Senate,  when  the  following 
resolution  was  unanimously  adopted  in  Senate  :  "  Resolved,  That  the  kind, 
gentlemanly,  and  courteous  treatment  extended  to  the  members  of  this 
Senate  by  the  Hon.  Joel  W.  Wilson,  President  pro  tern.,  entitles  him  to 
their  most  cordial  thanks."  To  which  Mr.  Wilson  responded  :  "  I  cannot 
permit  these  repeated  evidences  of  your  confidence  and  partiality  towards 
me  to  pass  unnoticed.  Comparatively  a  stranger  to  most  of  you,  on  arriving 
in  this  city,  I  found,  unexpectedly,  that  most  of  those  with  whom  I  had 


JOEL    W.    WILSON,    OF    OHIO.  451 

formerly  an  acquaintance,  had  selected  mc  as  the  person  upon  whom 
should  devolve  the  responsibility  of  presiding  at  the  opening  of  this  branch 
of  the  legislative  authority,  at  its  first  session  under  our  present  constitu- 
tion. The  remarkable  unanimity  with  which  you  carried  out  those  inten- 
tions, place  me  under  lasting  obligations  to  you  all.  I  have  been  here 
when  such  unanimity  could  not  be  attained — when  the  foundations  of 
civil  government  in  our  state  were  shaken,  tottering  to  their  fall.  But 
the  virtue  and  intelligence  of  the  people  of  Ohio,  upon  which  rests  the 
foundation  of  our  republican  government,  very  soon  erected  another, 
more  beautiful  in  its  proportions,  stronger  in  its  defence  of  the  weak,  and 
better  adapted  to  the  day  in  which  we  live.  Under  it,  by  your  aid,  we 
organized  as  the  first  Senate,  diftering  in  many  respects  from  any  former 
organization  in  Ohio.  This,  too,  in  a  remarkably  brief  space  of  time,  and 
without  words  of  contention.  This,  gentlemen,  is  Republicanism.  Its 
beauties  are  developed  in  casting  off,  peacefully,  an  old,  and  putting  on 
this  new  organic  law,  without  any  other  force  than  the  virtue  and  intelli- 
gence of  two  millions  of  freemen,  speaking  through  the  ballot  box,  and 
by  their  representatives.  It  is  a  spectacle  u[)on  which  tyrants  may  look 
and  tremble,  and  to  which  the  downtrodden  millions  who  inhabit  the  face 
of  God's  green  earth,  with  a  right  to  live,  and  have  a  living  and  a  future, 
but  who  are  deprived  of  that  right  by  the  strong  arm  of  power,  may  look, 
as  the  dawn  of  their  hopes — the  star  of  Bethlehem,  which  shall  wash 
out  their  political  degradation.  To  this  high  destiny  we  have  attained  ; 
the  felicity  of  the  present  hour  proclaims  it;  the  world  stands  ready  to 
acknowledge  it;  humanity  calls  tor  the  sealing  and  perpetuity  of  it ;  and 
in  you  and  your  common  constituencies'  hands,  it  is  safe.  Pei*mit  me, 
in  conclusion,  to  say,  fellow  senators,  one  and  all,  for  that  unanimous 
sentiment  of  yours  thus  publicly  expressed,  I  thank  you.  If  I  have  aided 
in  the  least  in  the  discharge  of  the  high  trusts  to  which  I  have  alluded, 
and  which  a  generous  people  have  confided  to  our  hands,  I  have  done 
no  more  than  was  my  duty ;  and  you,  by  your  aid  and  partiality,  have 
enabled  me  to  do  it." 

The  business  of  this  session,  as  well  as  of  the  adjourned  sessions  of 
1852-53,  of  which  Mr,  Wilson  was  a  member,  was  very  laborious,  it 
being  necessary  to  remodel  and  make  anew  to  conform  to  the  provision 
of  the  new  organic  law,  and  but  little  opportunity  was  given  for  pompous 
display.  An  immense  amount  of  business  was  transacted,  and  the  new 
arrangement  of  government  got  moving. 

In  the  spring  of  the  year  a.d.  1851,  Mr.  Wilson  was  employed,  by  the 
Governor,  in  behalf  of  the  state,  to  pursue  the  captors  of  the  children  of 
Peyton  Polly  (a  family  of  colored  children  forcibly  taken  from  the  state 
into  slavery),  and  as  counsel  for  the  state  to  prosecute  the  kidnappers, 
and  also  to  institute  the  necessary  and  proper  proceedings  to  recover  the 
freedom  of  the  children.  Mr.  Wilson  at  once  started  upon  his  new 
mission,  and  soon  discovered  that  the  family  had  been  divided,  a  part 
taken  to  Kentucky,  and  a  part  to  Virginia.  Mr.  Wilson  made  arrange- 
ments and  sent  after  those  in  Kentucky,  and  followed  on  himself  after 
those  in  Virginia — over  hills  and  mountains,  and  along  rough  and 
dangerous  paths,  sometimes  on  foot  and  sometimes  on  horseback,  lying 
in  the  open  air  at  night — at  last  with  his  guide  came  up  with  them  in  thp 
mountains  of  the  Tug  River.     The  person  in  possession  of  the  children 


452  SKETCHES    OF    EMINENT    AMERICANS. 

claimed  to  be  an  innocent  purcbaser,  and  refused  to  give  tliem  up.  Suit 
was  immediately  commenced  by  Mr.  Wilson  for  their  freedom.  The 
children  in  Kentucky  were  overtaken,  and  suits  instituted  for  their 
freedom,  which  have  lately  been  decided,  for  the  third  time,  in  favor  of 
the  children ;  and  they  are  now,  four  out  of  eight,  at  their  home,  in 
Ohio.  The  Virginia  cases,  as  yet,  have  had  no  trial.  The  perpetrators, 
however,  of  this  foul  deed,  have  so  far  eluded  pursuit. 

Mr.  Wilson  is  now  at  his  home  pursuing  the  practice  of  his  profession,  and 
enjoying  the  peaceful  quiet  of  his  family.  He  is  an  indulgent  father,  and 
a  kind  and  affectionate  husband.  He  is  much  respected  by  his  neigh- 
bors, and  esteemed  by  all  his  acquaintances  as  a  prudent  ^nd  high- 
minded  man,  and  a  good  and  worthy  citizen.  He  is  a  great  friend  to  all 
kinds  of  public  improvements,  and  encourages  them  by  all  means  in  his 
power.  He  is  not  wealthy  ;  but  by  his  prudence  and  care  has  secured 
for  himself  and  family  a  competency.  He  is  a  sincere  well-wisher  of  all 
youth,  and  particularly  young  men,  many  of  whom  can  appreciate  his 
good  advice  and  friendly  cautions,  and  attribute  to  him,  in  a  great 
measure,  their  success  in  business.  He  is  courteous  and  pleasant  in  his 
general  deportment  and  business  transactions.  He  is  quick  of  per- 
ception and  active  in  temperament  ;  ready  in  deciding  as  to  right  and 
upholding  it,  and  as  ready  in  detecting  the  wrong  and  condemning  it. 
He  detests  the  indolent — d'rones  on  society,  whether  young  or  old,  rich  or 
poor,  male  or  female — and  is  ready  in  denouncing,  them.  He  believes 
that  every  one  has  a  duty,  by  which  all  will  be  benefited,  and  that  that 
duty  should  be  performed  faithfully,  and  that  no  one  is  exempt  from  it. 
And  he  is  an  ardent  supporter  of  all  good  and  wholesome  laws ;  but  he 
is  equally  as  strenuous  in  his  opposition  to  any  attempts  at  law  infringing 
the  natural  liberty  farther  than  is  demanded  for  the  good  of  society. 


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JOHN   FINLAVSON,    OF    ANCILLA,    JEFFERSON    CO.,    FLORIDA.  453 

HON.  JOHN   FINLAYSON, 

OF     ANCILLA,    JEFFERSON      COUNTY,     FLORIDA. 

Hon.  John  Finlayson  was  born  in  Marlboro  District,  South  Caro- 
lina, ou  the  9th  of  July,  1810.  His  father,  Daniel  Finlayson,  who  was 
a  native  of  Scotland,  emigrated  to  this  country  in  the  year  1800,  when 
only  eighteen  years  of  age.  Being  very  poor,  he  worked  for  some  years, 
as  a  common  laborer,  on  Cape  Fear  river,  between  Wilmington,  where 
he  first  landed,  and  Fayetteville.  He  married  Christiana  McRae,  of 
Marlboro  District,  by  whom  he  had  three  children,  the  subject  of  this 
memoir  being  the  eldest.  When  John  was  eight  years  old,  his  father 
removed  to  Georgia  and  settled  in  the  county  of  Telfair;  then  one  of 
the  frontier  counties,  bordering  ou  the  Indian  territories,  and  inhabited 
principally  by  men  engaged  in  the  rearing  of  stock.  After  his  marriage, 
the  elder  Finlayson  turned  his  attention  to  farming,  and  especially  stock 
raising,  and  soon  became  noted  for  his  neatness  in  the  management  of  his 
little  farm,  his  hospitality  and  kindness  ;  he  died,  however,  soon  after 
removing  to  Georgia,  leaving  his  wife  and  three  cliildren  in  indigent  cir- 
cumstances. The  mother  of  John  Finlayson  was  a  woman  of  great 
energy  and  vigor  of  intellect,  as  well  as  a  sincere  practical  Christian.  It 
was  owing  to  these  noble  traits  of  character  that  she  was  enabled  to  bear 
her  heavy  burthen,  and  was  sustained  in  her  exertions  to  support  her 
children,  and  to  give  to  them  such  an  education  as  that  section  of  the 
country  at  the  time  afforded.  Her  memory  is  revered  and  cherished  by 
her  son,  with  more  than  ordinary  filial  atiection. 

John  Finlayson  received  the  rudiments  of  a  common  English  educa- 
tion within  the  walls  of  a  pine-wood  log  cabin.  During  the  crop  season 
he  assisted  his  mother  in  the  labors  of  the  fai'm,  and  in  the  remainder  of 
the  year  he  attended  school  whenever  an  opportunity  occurred.  He  was 
always  extremely  anxious  to  do  something  which  would  enable  him  to 
rise  above  the  cold  charities  of  the  world,  and  was  inspired  with  the 
behef,  that  energy,  perseverance,  and  a  good  character  would  enable  him 
to  do  so.  These  were  the  only  forces  he  could  muster  for  the  contest, 
but  of  these  he  was  determined  to  exert  the  entire  strength.  Like  all 
others,  commencing  the  world  as  he  did,  poor,  and  without  poweiful  or 
influential  friends,  he  has  occasionally  been  subjected  to  the  brow-beating 
of  those  who  felt  themselves  his  superiors  ;  but  so  far  from  being  dis- 
couraged thereby,  it  only  nerved  him  to  redoubled  energy,  and  excited 
within  him  a  determination  to  oblige  tliose  who  then  considered  them- 
selves his  superiors,  one  day  to  acknowledge  him  for  an  equal. 

When  fifteen  years  of  age  he  took  charge  of  a  small  school,  which 
he  taught  about  nine  months,  and  abandoned  ;  ari-iving  at  the  conclu- 
sion that  school  teaching  was  altogether  too  slow  a  business.  When 
sixteen  years  old  he  entered  the  emdoy  of  Messrs.  M.  &  A.  Smith,  who 
kept  a  country  store  in  Tatnall  county,  Georgia,  as  a  clerk :  to  the  mem- 
bers of  this  firm  he  feels  indebted  for  a  large  portion  of  his  knowledge 
of  the  mercantile  profession,  and  to  their  good  example  he  partially  attri- 
butes his  success.     After  remaining  with  the  Messrs.  Smith  a  short  tinie 


454  SKETCHES    OF    EMINENT    AMERICANS, 

as  clerk,  tbey  furnished  liim  with  a  small  stock  of  goods  to  sell  on  com- 
mission, and  established  him  in  business  in  a  favorable  location,  about 
thirty  miles  distant.  At  the  expiration  of  two  years,  having  accumulated 
about  seven  hundred  dollars,  he  purchased  the  business  of  a  firm  in  Jack- 
sonville, the  county  city  of  Telfair,  the  members  of  which,  being  anx- 
ious to  dissolve  their  connexion,  were  willing  to  allow  him  the  necessary 
time  on  that  portion  of  the  purchase  for  which  he  could  not  pay  cash. 
This  purchase  amounted  to  $3,000,  which  sum  was  paid  promptly  as  it 
became  due,  and,  at  the  same  time,  the  stock  in  store  was  replenished  as 
often  as  necessary.  This  transaction  took  place  in  1829,  and  Mr.  Fin- 
layson  remained  in  Jacksonville  until  '39.  During  this  period  of  ten 
years  he  had  accumulated  a  capital  of  $35,000,  with  which  he  removed 
to  Florida,  where  after  investing  $31,000  in  a  small,  but  very  fine  tract  of 
land,  a  sufiicient  number  of  slaves,  and  all  the  other  necessary  stock,  he 
commenced  business  as  a  planter,  thus  realizing  his  early  hopes,  and 
gratifying  an  ardent  and  long  cherished  desire. 

The  life  of  the  Florida  planter  was  much  more  lonely  and  monoto- 
mous  than  that  of  the  store  keeper  at  Jacksonville  ;  and  rural  pleasures, 
doubtless,  would  soon  have  become  distasteful  to  him,  had  he  not  found 
a  companion  to  share  in  his  enjoyment.  On  the  6th  December,  1842, 
Mr.  Finlayson  married  Florida  Augustine,  the  youngest  daughter  of  a 
Judge,  a  most  amiable  and  lovely  young  lady,  by  whom  he  has  now 
three  children, 

Mr.  Finlayson  has  now  been  nearly  thirteen  years  engaged  in  plant- 
ing; during  that  time  he  has  more  than  quadrupled  his  property,  inde- 
pendent of  the  numerous  losses  in  slaves,  mules,  horses,  &c.,  which  he 
has  sustained.  He  is  now  reputed  one  of  the  largest  and  most  success- 
ful planters  in  the  state. 

Mr.  Finlayson  has  the  reputation  of  being  a  lucky  man ;  but  his  sue-, 
cess  in  life  is  far  more  easily  explained  by  reference  to  his  peculiar 
character,  than  by  attributing  it  to  the  freaks  of  fortune.  He  has 
always  paid  the  closest  attention  to  business;  he  has  always  depended 
entirely  upon  his  own  exertions  and  resources;  kept  free  from  debt;  and 
only  increasing  his  estate  as  his  means  on  hand  would  warrant. 

He  has  never  manifested  any  disposition  to  enter  the  political  arena, 
yet  sometimes,  by  the  urgent  solicitations  of  his  friends,  he  has  been 
induced  to  accept  responsible  stations.  He  has  several  times  occupied 
a  seat  in  the  General  Assembly  of  the  state  of  Florida ;  was  twice  elected 
a  member  of  that  bod}'  without  opposition.  In  the  legislative  assembly, 
Mr.  Finlayson  was  regarded  as  a  very  efficient  member  ;  and  by  his 
vigilance  in  guai-ding  the  public  funds,  acquired  the  name  of  "  Watch 
Dog  of  the  Treasury." 

He  is  kind,  hospitable  and  concihating  in  his  manners ;  a  very  fast 
friend  and  a  bitter  enemy.  He  is  a  man  of  strong  intellect,  and  possesses 
largely  sound,  practical  common  sense.  He  is  very  discriminating  in 
his  judgment,  not  easily  deceived,  and  particularly  just  in  his  estimation 
of  men.  He  manifests  great  decision  and  determination  of  character. 
He  is  rather  retiring  in  his  manners,  yet  of  a  cheerful  and  lively  dispo- 
sition, and  easily  approached. 


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ASA    M.   TRAIN,    OF    MILFORD,    CONN.  456 

ASA    M.    TRAIN, 

OF   MILFORD,   CONN. 

It  is  a  fact,  nowhere  more  evident  than  in  our  own  Republic,  that  the 
most  useful  men  are  not  always — scarcely  ever,  perhaps — what  the 
world  calls  great  men.  The  brilliant  exploits  of  splendid  heroes,  and  the 
eloquence  of  mighty  statesmen,  attract  the  attention  of  the  world,  and 
elicit  shouts  of  acclamation  and  songs  of  praise.  But  men  of  real  worth, 
whose  lives  are  spent  for  the  benefit  of  their  fellow-men,  and  whose  influ- 
ence will  be  felt  for  good  to  the  end  of  time — who  are  in  reality  the 
"  bone  and  sinew"  of  the  country,  but  whose  deeds  are  not  written  in  the 
blood  of  slaughtered  thousands,  or  trumpeted  forth  by  the  mouth  of 
fame — such  men,  no  less  deserving  than  those  who  are  more  celebrated, 
too  often  live  and  die  in  retirement,  unknown  save  by  the  fortunate  few 
who  are  thrown  into  immediate  contact  with  them,  and  are  enabled  to 
appreciate  their  virtues.  To  such  a  class,  we  think,  belongs  the  subject 
of  our  notice. 

Asa  M.  Train  was  born  at  Enfield,  Mass.,  July  26th,  1800.  At  an  early 
age  he  conceived  the  idea  of  going  to  college,  or  of  obtaining  an  educa- 
tion by  some  means.  His  father  was  a  farmer,  in  comfortable  circum- 
stances, and  characterized  by  that  plain  common  sense  which  belongs  to 
our  New  England  yeomen,  but  was  strongly  opposed  to  the  plan  his  son 
had  formed,  of  leaving  the  farm  for  the  halls  of  a  college.  He  expostu- 
lated and  urged,  and  offered  all  inducements  that  lay  in  his  power  to  turn 
him  from  his  purpose;  but  seeing  his  labors  of  no  avail,  he  told  his  son, 
if  he  left  home,  he  must  look  for  no  aid  from  him.  To  this  he  received 
the  reply,  that  his  aid  would  not  be  asked  for,  his  permission  only  was 
desired.  This  one  object  attained,  under  such  auspices  he  began  his 
career.  Thrown  upon  his  own  resources,  without  a  friend  to  encourage 
or  advise,  without  a  shilling  in  his  purse,  he  went  forth  into  the  wide 
world — went  forth  to  become  a  living  testimony  to  the  truth  of  the  old 
maxim,  that  every  man  is  the  architect  of  his  own  fortune. 

He  found  employment,  during  the  summer  season,  among  the  farmers  ; 
in  Yankee  phrase,  he  hired  out,  for  such  wages  as  he  could  obtain,  and 
with  the  proceeds  of  his  summer  labors  paid  for  his  schooHng  during  the 
winter.  Even  while  at  work  he  did  not  relinquish  his  studies,  but  after 
his  day's  work  was  done,  too  much  fatigued  to  sit  up  longer,  he  would 
retire,  and  placing  his  candle  on  his  breast,  would  pore  over  the  pages  of 
his  text-book  for  the  greater  part  of  the  night. 
"  The  writer  of  this  sketch  has  heard  him  say  that  while  studying  in  this 
manner  he  has  frequently  fallen  asleep,  and  upon  awakening  found  the 
light  still  burning.  After  qualifying  himself  sufficiently,  he  began  teach- 
ing school,  his  first  attempt  at  this  business  being  made  when  only  six- 
teen years  of  age.  Thus  he  continued  teaching  for  his  support,  and 
fitting  himself  for  college,  until  the  age  of  twenty-one.  He  then  entered 
Amherst  (Mass.)  College,  where  he  graduated,  in  1825,  with  high 
honor.  After  graduation,  he  studied  theology  at  Andover,  Mass.,  and 
Yale  Theological  Institute,  New  Haven,  Ct.,  supporting  himself  through- 


456  SKETCHES    OF   EMINENT    AMERICANS. 

out  his  collegiate  course,  as  well  as  while  obtaining  his  profession,  by 
teaching,  without  aid  of  any  sort  from  anybody.  At  the  expiration  of 
his  course  at  Yale,  he  received  an  invitation  from  the  Second  Congrega- 
tional Church,  Milford,  Ct.,  to  settle  as  their  pastor.  That  church  was  at 
this  time  small,  its  affairs  in  an  embarrassed  situation,  and  its  members 
scattered  over  a  lai'ge  extent  of  territory.  It  needed  "  building  up,"  and 
called  for  arduous  labors  from  him  who  became  their  pastor.  It  would 
seem  that  a  man  exjierienced  in  the  peculiar  duties  of  a  clergyman  was 
necessary  for  this  purpose ;  but  Mr.  Train,  with  no  capital  of  money  or 
sermons,  inexperienced  as  he  was,  but  with  the  same  energetic  spirit,  and 
readiness  to  undertake  labor  set  before  him,  which  has  ever  been  a  prevailing 
feature  in  his  character,  accepted  the  invitation,  and  entered  at  once  upon 
the  discharge  of  his  duties,  being  ordained  July,  1828.  Regardless  of 
health  or  personal  comfort,  he  gave  himself  up  entirely  to  the  work  of 
the  ministry.  Ever  mindful  of  the  high  responsibility  resting  upon  him, 
and  with  a  deep  interest  in  the  people  of  his  charge,  he  proved,  by  his 
faithful  preaching,  by  his  presence  when  there  was  opportunity  of  doing 
good,  and  by  his  untiring  efforts  on  all  occasions  in  their  behalf,  his 
sincere  love  for  them,  and  his  devotion  to  his  Master's  service. 

Nor  were  his  labors  unblessed.  The  church  began  to  revive  and 
increase ;  the  old  and  dilapidated  house  of  worship  gave  place  to  a  new 
and  handsome  edifice,  and  at  the  time  of  his  dismissal  the  church  ranked 
among  the  first  in  number  and  importance  in  the  state.  He  continued 
as  their  pastor  for  twenty-three  years,  when,  his  health  being  greatly 
impaired  by  over-exertion,  and  too  close  application,  he  was  at  his  own . 
request  dismissed  from  the  pastoral  charge,  January,  1850.  Being  exone- 
rated from  the  toils  and  cares  of  a  pastor,  his  health  improved,  and 
since  his  dismissal  he  has  taken  an  active  part  in  the  politics  of  the  state.  In 
the  spring  of  1850  ho  was,  by  much  solicitation,  induced  to  accept  an 
election  to  the  House  of  Representatives.  His  sagacious  counsels,  and 
prudent  but  honorable  course  while  here,  drew  towards  him  the  attention 
of  those  connected  with  him,  and  won  for  him  their  respect  and  esteem. 
He  was  re-elected  in  1851.  Always  found  upon  the  side  of  justice  and 
right,  ever  open  to  conviction,  but  firm  and  unyielding  when  pursuing 
what  seemed  to  him  the  path  of  duty,  acting  for  the  public  good,  and  not 
for  personal  honor  or  emolument,  calm  and  discreet  in  counsel,  ready  in 
debate,  and  prompt  in  action,  he  fully  answered  the  high  expectations  of 
his  constituents,  and  did  honor  to  his  head  and  heart.  By  the  papers  of 
the  day  he  was  designated  as  the  "  cool  and  sagacious  leader  of  the  Whig 
party" — by  every  one  respected  and  praised.  In  1852  Mr.  Train  was 
elected  a  member  of  the  Senate.  The  same  qualities  which  had  hitherto 
distinguished  his  career  were  now  displayed  in  a  more  striking  manner. 
He  maintained  the  respect  he  had  won,  and  enlarged  the  sphere  of 
his  influence. 

If  disputes  and  trouble  arose — and  in  the  perplexing  transactions  of  a 
legislature  they  are  by  no  means  unfrequent — his  counsel  was  soon  to  be 
sought,  and  as  soon  to  bring  about  a  satisfactory  settlement.  If  support 
was  needed  for  an  important  measure,  every  eye  was  turned  to  him  for 
aid,  and  if  it  met  with  his  approbation,  his  clear-headed  arguments  and 
eloquent  appeals  in  its  behalf  were  almost  certain  to  secure  its  passage. 
In  1853  Hon.  Mr.  Train  was  again  elected  to  the  House  of  Representatives. 


ASA    M.    TRAIN,    OF    MILFORD,    CONN.  457 

Here  he  maintained  the  position  he  had  won  by  his  former  career,  still 
increasing  in  influence,  and  securing  the  respect  and  confidence  of  the 
people. 

Among  others,  the  Temperance  question  has  been  agitated  in  our 
Legislature  during  the  past  two  or  three  years.  For  the  Temperance 
cause  Mr.  Train  is  a  warm  and  zealous  advocate.  He  was  one  of  the 
first  movers  in  the  woik  in  his  own  county,  and  has  ever  sought  to  pro- 
mulgate its  principles  by  his  labor  and  example.  While  in  the  Legisla- 
ture he  labored  earnestly  for  the  passage  of  a  stringent  law  to  prohibit 
ihe  sale  of  intoxicating  liquors,  and  if  the  attempt  to  pass  such  a 
law  failed,  it  must  be  acknowledged  it  was  owing  to  other  causes,  and 
not  to  the  inefliciency  of  its  advocates. 

The  State  Reform  School,  the  establishment  of  which  was  one  of  the 
wisest  and  most  praiseworthy  acts  of  the  Legislature  of  1851,  owes  its 
existence  almost  entirely  to  the  zealous  efforts  of  Mr.  Train  in  its  behalf. 

Such  is  a  hasty  review  of  the  past  life  of  the  Hon.  Asa  M.  Train.  We 
have  not  entered  into  the  minutiae,  but  merely  taken  a  cursory  glance  at 
the  more  prominent  points  of  his  life  and  labors,  paying  them  much  less 
attention  than  they  deserve. 

There  would  scarcely  be  an  end  to  our  task  were  we  to  enter  into  par- 
ticulars, and  give  to  all  the  acts  of  his  life  the  prominence  they  merit. 

We  might  speak  at  greater  length  of  his  labors  as  pastor,  of  his  often 
eloquent,  always  faithful  sermons,  of  his  kind  attentions  to  the  sick  and 
afflicted,  of  the  broken  hearts  he  has  bound  up,  of  the  feuds  he  has 
healed  by  his  friendly  counsel,  and  of  his  kindness  to,  and  sympathy 
with,  ail  around  him. 

We  might  easily  enlarge  upon  that  portion  of  his  political  labors,  which, 
though  great  in  their  result,  yet  they  themselves  performed  in  quiet  are 
concealed  from  the  observation  of  the  world  ;  like  the  water  wheel  of  a 
large  manufactory,  which,  though  the  moving  power,  the  sine  qua  non 
of  the  whole  machinery,  is  itself  hidden  from  sight.  Did  we  choose  to 
dwell  upon  the  virtues  of  his  private  life,  we  might  speak  of  his  dili- 
gence, of  his  benevolence,  his  hospitality,  his  patience  under  trial,  and  his 
unwavering  fixedness  of  purpose  ;  but,  as  we  before  said,  did  we  begin  we 
should  know  not  when  to  stop. 

Recently  Mr.  Train  has  been  mentioned  as  a  prominent  man  to  receive 
the  nomination  to  Congress  from  his  district ;  and  should  he  choose  to 
continue  in  political  life,  we  may  expect  to  see  him  placed  where  his 
influence  will  be  more  widely  felt,  and  where  greater  scope  will  be  given 
to  his  talents  and  energies. 

In  his  personal  appearance  Mr.  Train  is  plain,  even  negligent  in  his 
dress,  of  medium  height  and  of  a  stooping  posture.  By  his  frugality  and 
good  management  he  has  amassed  a  small  property,  sufficient  to  place 
him  in  easy  circumstances,  and  render  him  independent — with  God's 
blessing — for  the  rest  of  his  life.  For  the  success  and  prosperity  which 
have  attended  him,  and  the  situation  in  the  world  that  he  has  attained, 
he  is  indebted  only  to  his  own  exertions,  and  the  blessing  of  God. 

Still  in  the  prime  of  life,  his  friends  cannot  but  ardently  hope  that  he 
may  long  be  spared  from  sickness  and  death, — that  many  years  may  be 
allotted  him  in  the  sphere  he  so  highly  adorns. 


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